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Proceedings    and   Addresses 


CELEBRATION 


OF  THE 


•  •  BEGINNING  •   • 

•  •    •  OF  THE  •   •    • 
SECOND  CENTURY 


OF  THE 


American  Patent  System 


AT 


WASHINGTON  CITY,  D.  C. 

APRIL  8,     ,  10,  1891. 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 
TH?^ 

toinrSBSITY 
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LJJH\m&»^r     WASHINGTON,  D.  C.: 

PRESS  OF  GEDNEY  &  ROBERTS  Co. 
1892. 


fV 


Copyright,  1892,  by  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Patent  Centennial  Celebration, 
GEO.  C.  MAYNARD,  Acting  Chairman,  J.  ELFRETH  WATK.INS,  Secretary. 


TABLE  OF   CONTENTS. 

PROCEEDINGS  AND  ADDRESSES, 

PATENT  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 


PAGE 

HISTORY  OF  MOVEMENT 3 

ORGANIZATION,  LIST  OF  COMMITTEES,  ETC n 

PROCEEDINGS  AT  THE  MEETINGS,  RECEPTION  AT  THE  PATENT 

OFFICE,  AND  EXCURSION  TO  MOUNT  VERNON 21 

ADDRESS   BY  HON.    BENJAMIN   HARRISON,   PRESIDENT   OF   THE 

UNITED  STATES,  OPENING  THE  CONGRESS 23 

FORMATION  OF  THE  NATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  INVENTORS  AND 

MANUFACTURERS 37 

BANQUETS  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  TRADE  AND  OF  THE  WASHINGTON 

~  Civil,  ENGINEERS 39 

ADDRESSES  DELIVERED  AT  THE  CONGRESS 43 

RESOLUTIONS  passed  by  the  Executive  Committee  upon  the  death  of 

Hon.  JOHN  LYNCH,  Chairman  of  that  Committee 485 

SUBSCRIBERS  TO  THE  GUARANTEE  FUND f 487 

LIST  OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CONGRESS 488 

NEWSPAPER  COMMENT  UPON  THE  CELEBRATION 499 

INDEX 523 

ADDRESSES  DELIVERED  AT  THE  CONGRESS. 
BY 

Hon.  CHARLES  ELIOT  MITCHELL,  Commissioner  of  Patents.— "Birth 

and  Growth  of  the  American  Patent  System  " 43 

Hon.  O.  H.  PLATT,  U.  S.  Senator.— "Invention  and  Advancement,"     57 

Hon.  CARROLL  D.  WRIGHT,  Commissioner  of  Labor. — "The  Rela- 
tion of  Invention  to  Labor" 77 

Hon.  SAMUEL  BLATCHFORD,  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 

United  States.— "A  Century  of  Patent  Law" in 

Hon.  ROBERT  S.  TAYLOR. — "The  Epoch  Making  Inventions  of 

America" 121 

Hon.  JOHNW.  DANIEL,  U.  S.  Senator.— "The  New  South  as  an 

Outgrowth  of  Invention  and  the  American  Patent  Law  tf 129 

Hon.  A.  R.  SPOFFORD,  Librarian  U.  S.  Congress. — "The  Copyright 

System  of  the  United  States  :  its  Origin  and  its  Growth  " 145 

OCTAVE  CHANUTE,  President  of  the  American  Society  of  Civil  En- 
gineers.— "The  Effect  of  Invention  upon  the  Railroad  and 
other  means  of  Inter-Communication  " 161 


iv  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

"*  THOMAS  GRAY,  Professor  of  Dynamic  Engineering,  Rose  Polytechnic 
Institute,  Terra  Haute. — "The  Inventors  of  the  Telegraph  and 

Telephone" 175 

Col.  F.  A.  SEEi/Y,  Principal  Examiner  U.  S.  Patent  Office. — "  Inter- 
national Protection  of  Industrial  Property" 199 

-  EDWARD  ATKINSON,  of  Massachusetts. — "Invention  in  its  Effects 

upon  Household  Economy" 217 

S.  P.  IvANGi,EY,  Secretary  Smithsonian  Institution,  Presiding  at  Ses- 
sion afternoon  of  April  9,  1891 235 

t  WiLU  AM  P.  TRO  WBRIDGE,  Professor  of  Engineering  School  of  Mines, 
Columbia  College.— "The  Effect  of  Technological  Schools 
upon  the  Progress  of  Invention  " 239 

—  ROBERT  H.  THURSTON,  Director  and  Professor  of  Mechanical  Engi- 
neering, Sib  ley  College,  Cornell  University. — "The  Invention 
of  the  Steam  Engine" 251 

-  CYRUS  F.  BRACKETT,  Henry  Professor  of  Physics,  College  of  New 

Jersey,  Princeton. — "The  Effect  of  Invention  upon  the  Progress 

of  Electrical  Science" 287 

'  Major  CLARENCE  E.  DuTTON,  Ordnance  Department,  U.  S.  A. — "The 
Influence  of  Invention  upon  the  Implements  and  Munitions  of 
Modern  Warfare  "  293 

F.  W.  CLARKE,  Chief  Chemist  U.  S.  Geological  Survey.— "The 
Relations  of  Abstract  Scientific  Research  to  Practical  In- 
vention " 303 

J.  M.  TONER,  M.  D.,  of  Washington,  at  Mount  Vernon. — "Washing- 
ton as  an  Inventor  and  Promoter  of  the  Useful  Arts" 313 

Hon.  BENJAMIN  BUTTERWORTH,  of  Ohio,  U.  S.  House  of  Represent- 
atives.— "The  Effect  of  our  Patent  System  on  the  Material 
Development  of  the  United  States  " 381 

Hon.  WM.  T.  HARRIS,  Commissioner  of  Education. — "The  Relation 
of  Invention  to  the  Communication  of  Intelligence  by  News- 
paper and  Book" 393 

OTIS  T.   MASON,   Curator  in   the  U.  S.   National  Museum. — "The 

Birth  of  Invention" 403 

Dr.  JOHN  S.  BIIJJNGS,  Curator,  U.  S.  Army  Medical  Museum. — 
' '  American  Invention  and  Discoveries  in  Medicine,  Surgery, 
and  Practical  Sanitation  " 413 

ADDRESSES  AT  THE  BANQUET  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  TRADE, 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C., 

BY 

Hon.  M.  M.  PARKER,  President  Board  of  Trade. —Address  of  Wel- 
come   423 

Hon.  JOHN  M.  HARI.AN,  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States.— "The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  as  Related 
to  the  American  Patent  System 425 

Hon.  JOHN  W.  NOBI,E,  Secretary  of  the  Interior. — "The  Future  of 

the  American  Patent  System  " 426 

Hon.  CHARGES  FOSTER,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. — "American 

Patents  from  a  Financial  Standpoint  "  432 

Hon.  W.  H.  H.  MIIABR,  Attorney  General.—"  Relation  of  Patents 

to  the  Law"  (letter) 433 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  V 

Gen.  LEWIS  A.  GRANT,  Assistant  Secretary  of  War. — "American 

Patents  in  the  Army  " 434 

Hon.  J.  R.  Soi,EY,  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy. — "American 

Patents  in  the  Navy  " 439 

Hon.  S.  A.  WniTFiEivD,  Assistant  Postmaster  General.— "  American 

Patents  in  the  Postal  Service" 441 

Hon.  BENJAMIN  BUTTERWORTH,  Secretary  World's  Columbian  Ex- 
position.—"American  Patents  at  the  World's  Exposition" 444 

Hon.  RICHARD  POPE,  Commissioner  of  Patents  Dominion  of  Canada. 

"The  Canadian  Patent  Office"  45° 

PAPERS   UPON   U.  S.   PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS. 

ROBERT  W.  FENWICK,  of  Washington,  D.  C.— "The  Old  and  the 

New  Patent  Office" 453 

W.  C.  DODGE,  of  Washington,  D.  C. — "The  Origin,  Nature  and 

Effect  of  Patents" 473 

JAMES  L.  EWEN,  of  Washington,  D.  C. — "The  Minor  Inventions  of 

the  Century" 481 


Proceedings  of  the  Congress 


HISTORY  OF  THE   MOVEMENT. 

The  celebration  of  the  beginning  of  the  Second  Century  of 
the  American  Patent  System  was  the  outgrowth  of  a  spon- 
taneous desire  to  recognize  publicly  the  benefits  which  that 
system  has  conferred  upon  our  Nation  and  upon  the  world. 

This  movement  took  practical  shape  when,  at  the  last  of 
several  meetings,  duly  advertised  in  the  papers,  held  at  the 
Arlington  Hotel,  November  n,  1890,  of  which  Mr.  Robt.  W. 
Fenwick  was  Chairman  and  Mr.  James  T.  Dubois  was  Secre- 
tary, the  Chairman  was  '*  empowered  to  appoint  a  committee 
of  seven  to  make  arrangements  for  the  celebration,  * '  having 
in  view  the  successful  accomplishment  of  two  purposes,  to  wit: 

i st.  The  celebration  in  an  appropriate  manner  of  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Second  Century  of  the  American  Patent  System  by 
the  reading  of  scientific  and  historical  papers  by  eminent  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States,  and  other  exercises. 

2d.  The  formation  of  a  National  Association  of  Inventors 
and  Manufacturers  of  Patented  Articles. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  then  chosen  members  of  the 
Central  Committee  : 

'  JOHN  W.  BABSON,  Chief  of  Issue  and  Gazette  Div.,  U.  S. 
Pat.  Office. 

BRAINARD  H.  WARNER,  President,  Columbia  National 

Bank. 

PROF.  OTIS  T.  MASON,  Curator,  U.  S.  National  Museum. 
MYRON   M.  PARKER,  President,   Washington  Board  of 

Trade. 

HON.  JOHN  IvYNCH,    President,  Potomac  Terra  Cotta  Co. 

MARVIN  C.  STONE,  Manufacturer  of  Novelties. 

J.  ELFRETH  WATKINS,  Curator,  U.  S.  National  Museum. 

To  which  were  added  the  Chairman  (Robt.  W.  Fenwick), 
and  Secretary  (James  T.  Dubois),  of  the  public  meetings. 

Bxtracts  from  the  newspapers  relating  to  the  movement 
will  be  found  in  the  Appendix. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Central  Committee,  held  Decem- 
ber ist,  1891,  John  W.  Babson  was  chosen  Chairman,  and 
J.  Elfreth  Watkins,  Secretary. 


4  HISTORY   OF    THE   MOVEMENT. 

It  having  been  decided  to  issue  an  address  to  the  public 
which  should  embody  the  objects  and  aims  of  the  Celebration, 
the  following,  "Circular  No.  i,"  was  prepared  and  given  to 
the  press  for  publication.  Several  thousand  copies  were  sub- 
sequently printed  and  distributed  throughout  the  country. 

To  THE  INVENTORS  OF  AMERICA  AND  THE  MANUFACTURERS 
OF  INVENTIONS. 

The  completion  of  the  First  Century  of  the  American  Patent 
System  marks  so  important  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the 
Nation  that  it  is  eminently  proper  that  the  beginning  of  the 
second  shall  not  pass  unnoticed. 

The  centennial  anniversaries  of  other  important  national 
events  have  been  celebrated  in  a  manner  worthy  of  a  people 
proud  of  their  country  and  its  growth.  Surely  the  system 
that  has  aided  the  agriculturist  in  the  field,  the  mechanic  in 
the  shop,  and  the  toiler  in  the  mine  ;  that  has  stimulated  in- 
vention and  helped  every  branch  of  modern  industry,  has 
played  no  small  part  in  a  history  so  full  of  the  triumphs  of 
human  achievement. 

Believing  that  the  American  inventor  and  manufacturer  of 
inventions  will  regard  it  a  privilege  as  well  as  a  duty  to  co- 
operate in  making  due  recognition  of  these  facts,  it  is  proposed 
to  hold  a  celebration  at  the  National  Capital  in  April,  1891, 
which  shall  in  a  fitting  manner  commemorate  the  important 
event  and  place  on  record  the  Nation's  appreciation  of  the 
labors  of  those  whose  ingenuity,  patience  and  tireless  effort 
have  exercised  such  a  potent  influence  in  accelerating  the 
prosperous  growth  of  the  Nation,  and  in  aiding  the  progress 
of  our  civilization. 

The  necessity  for  a  National  Association  of  Inventors  organ- 
ized for  mutual  benefit  has  been  frequently  discussed  in  the 
technical  and  other  journals.  No  time  could  be  more  oppor- 
tune for  the  formation  of  such  an  association  than  when  men 
from  every  part  of  the  country  meet  to  celebrate  so  important 
an  anniversary.  Surely  the  occasion  is  most  inspiring. 

All  inventors  and  manufacturers  and  others  interested  are 
requested  to  cooperate  with  this  Committee  in  the  purpose 


HISTORY   OF    THE    MOVEMENT.  5 

above  set  forth.     Correspondence  appertaining  thereto  should 
be  addressed  to 

J.  EI«FRETH  W ATKINS,  Secretary, 
U.  S.  National  Museum,   Washington,  D.  C. 

This  circular  elicited  many  favorable  comments  from  the 
public  press,  and  inventors  and  manufacturers  of  patented 
articles  expressed  by  letter  their  desire  to  cooperate  in  the 
movement. 

On  the  1 6th  of  February  the  following  circular  was  mailed 
to  such  persons  who  it  was  thought  would  be  interested  in  the 
formation  of  a  National  Association  of  Inventors  and  Manu- 
facturers: 

OFFICE  OF  THK  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE 

FOR  THE 

CELEBRATION      OF     THE    BEGINNING     OF     THE      SECOND 

CENTURY    OF    THE  AMERICAN    PATENT    SYSTEM 

BY   INVENTORS   AND  MANUFACTURERS  OF 

PATENTED  INVENTIONS. 

EXECUTIVE:  COMMITTEE  : 

HON.   JOHN  r,YNCH,     .  '"   °   STREET  N«  W" 

Chairman.  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

J.  ELFRETH  WATKINS, 

Secretary. 

j.  w.  BABSON,  February  i6th,  1891. 

GEO.  C.  MAYNARD, 
MARVIN  C.  STONE-. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Your  attention  is  invited  to  the  accompanying 
circulars  relating  to  the  Patent  Celebration  to  be  held  in 
Washington  on  the  8th,  Qth  and  loth  of  April  next,  which  it 
is  hoped  you  will  attend. 

It  is  proposed  on  that  occasion  to  organize  a  permanent 
National  Association  of  Inventors  and  Manufacturers  of  Pat- 
ented Articles  for  the  purpose  of  securing  cooperation  in  all 
proper  matters  tending  to  the  improvement  of  the  American 
Patent  System. 

At  this  time,  when  social  and  economic  questions  of  the 
gravest  importance  fill  the  public  mind,  the  influence  of  judi- 
cious organized  effort  can  be  beneficially  exerted  to  remedy 
existing  defects  and  to  provide  against  danger  in  the  future. 


6  HISTORY   OF    THE   MOVEMENT. 

You  are  earnestly  requested  to  unite  in  the  formation  of  this 
Association,  and  to  contribute  your  personal  assistance  and 
cooperation  to  that  end. 

The  annual  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  to  Con- 
gress, bearing  date  January  ist,  1891,  again  calls  attention  to 
the  well-known  need  for  more  office  room,  lack  of  sufficient 
examining  force  and  inadequate  pay  of  every  Patent  Office 
official.  The  Commissioner  remarks  that  ' '  the  pace  kept  up 
in  the  Patent  Office  now,  as  in  all  recent  years,  is  inconsistent 
with  that  high  degree  of  care  which  the  patent  system  calls 
for, ' '  and  that  ' '  a  patent  should  evidence  such  painstaking 
care  in  examination  that  upon  its  face  it  should  warrant  a  pre- 
liminarjr  injunction,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  'American  '  examination  system  depends  upon 
so  conducting  examinations  into  the  novelty  of  alleged  inven- 
tions as  to  make  the  seal  of  the  Patent  Office  create  a  powerful, 
if  not  a  conclusive,  presumption  that  the  patent  is  valid." 

The  Commissioner  further  reports  that  during  the  past  year 
the  Patent  Office  has  earned  a  surplus  over  every  expense  of 
the  Office  of  $241,074.92,  and  that  the  total  balance  now  in  the 
Treasury  of  the  United  States  is  $3,872,745.24,  and  adds  that 
the  statement  that  the  inventors  of  the  country  cannot  under- 
stand why  the  government  takes  their  money  and  then  fails 
to  provide  necessary  facilities.  The  prime  reason  of  this  state 
of  affairs  is  that  the  inventors  of  the  country  have  never 
brought  concerted  effort  to  bear  upon  their  representatives  in 
Congress  to  the  end  that  proper  laws  should  be  enacted,  nor 
have  they  properly  supported  the  government  officials  in  their 
attempts  to  secure  adequate  office  space  and  means  to  facilitate 
the  carrying  out  of  present  regulations. 

Many  of  the  most  prominent  Inventors  and  Manufacturers  in 
the  country  have  expressed  decided  opinions  to  the  effect  that 
concerted  effort  at  this  time,  on  the  part  of  those  most  inter- 
ested, may  be  the  means  of  effecting  such  improvements  in 
the  patent  system  as  shall  secure  to  every  owner  and  user  of  a 
patented  invention  the  just  and  speedy  enforcement  of  his 
rights. 

The  Executive  Committee  of  the  Patent  Celebration,  de- 
siring to  cooperate  with  persons  interested  in  the  organization 


HISTORY   OF    THE    MOVEMENT.  ^ 

of  the  proposed  Association,  have  provided  a  suitable  place  for 
its  deliberations,  and  will  arrange  the  program  to  accommodate 
those  who  desire  to  take  part  both  in  the  Celebration  exercises 
and  in  the  business  meetings  of  the  Association. 

An  expression  of  your  views  upon  the  subject  is  requested. 
If  you  find  yourself  unable  to  attend  the  meetings,  you  are  in- 
vited to  bring  such  matters  as  you  desire  before  the  Association 
by  letter.  Correspondence  may  be  addressed  to 

J.  K.  WATKINS, 

Secretary. 

N.  B. — If  you  desire  to  address  the  Association  upon  any 
subject,  please  furnish  the  committee  with  an  abstract  of  ad- 
dress, and  state  length  of  time  to  be  consumed  in  delivery,  in 
order  that  the  preliminary  organization  may  have  information 
to  govern  them  in  arranging  the  program  for  meetings. 


THE   PRESIDENT  ACCEPTS  THE   INVITATION  TO  PRESIDE. 

The  following  letter  addressed  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  inviting  him  to  preside  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  Con- 
gress on  April  8th,  elicited  a  favorable  reply  : 

WASHINGTON,  January  24.,  1891. 

The  President:  On  the  eighth,  ninth,  and  tenth  of  April  next 
there  will  take  place  in  this  city  a  National  Celebration  of  the 
Beginning  of  the  Second  Century  of  the  American  Patent 
System.  This  is  being  organized  by  the  Inventors  and  Manu- 
facturers of  the  whole  country,  and  it  is  expected  that  thou- 
sands of  representative  men  of  these  classes,  from  every  part  of 
the  United  States,  will  attend  the  meetings. 

A  number  of  prominent  men  have  promised  to  deliver 
addresses  upon  this  occasion,  and  the  topics  to  be  discussed, 
as  you  will  see  by  the  enclosed  provisional  list,  relate  to  the 
history  of  the  Patent  System,  its  effect  upon  the  progress  of 
invention  and  its  relations  to  industrial  and  social  progress  in 
every  direction. 

It  is  deemed  eminently  fitting  that  the  President  of  the 
United  States  should  be  asked  to  be  present  at  the  opening 
of  this  Celebration,  which  is  a  tribute  from  the  citizens  of 
the  United  States  to  the  long-continued  efficiency  of  one  of 
the  branches  of  the  general  government.  As  Chairman  of  the 


8  HISTORY   OF    THE    MOVEMENT. 

Kxecutive  Committee,  in  behalf  of  all  interested  in  the  success 
of  the  movement,  I  have  the  honor  to  invite  you  to  take  the 
chair  at  the  first  meeting,  on  the  afternoon  of  Tuesday,  the 

eighth  of  April.  _ 

Respectfully, 

JOHN  LYNCH, 
Chairman  of  Executive  Committee. 

Invitations  were  also  extended  through  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee to  the  officials  of  the  various  foreign  patent  bureaus  to 
attend  the  celebration. 

The  following  is  the  form  of  invitation  : 


CELEBRATION  OF  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  SECOND  CENTURY 
OF  THE  AMERICAN  PATENT  SYSTEM  AT  WASHINGTON, 
U.  S.  A.,  April  8,  9,  10,  1891. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  arrangements  have 
been  made  to  celebrate,  in  an  appropriate  manner,  the  begin- 
ning of  the  second  century  of  the  American  Patent  System,  in 
the  city  of  Washington  on  the  8th,  9th  and  loth  of  April  next. 

This  celebration  is  being  organized  by  American  Inventors 
and  Manufacturers,  and  it  is  expected  that  thousands  of  repre- 
sentative men  of  these  classes  from  every  part  of  the  United 
States  will  attend  the  meetings. 

Prominent  statesmen,  jurists,  engineers  and  political  econo- 
mists will  deliver  addresses  upon  topics  relating  to  the  history 
of  our  patent  system,  its  effects  upon  the  progress  of  invention, 
and  its  relations  to  industrial  and  social  progress  in  every 
direction. 

You  are  requested  to  unite  with  these  citizens  of  the  United 
States  in  this  celebration,  which  is  their  tribute  to  the  long 
continued  efficiency  of  one  of  the  branches  of  the  general 
Government. 

In  behalf  of  all  interested  in  the  success  of  the  movement,  I 
have  the  honor  to  invite  you  and  such  citizens  as  you  may  de- 
sire to  accompany  you  to  take  part  in  this  celebration. 
Very  respectfully  yours, 

(Signed)        JOHN  LYNCH, 
Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee. 

(Signed)     J.  K.  WATKINS, 

Secretary  of  the  Executive  Committee. 


HISTORY   OF    THE   MOVEMENT.  9 

A  number  of  the  replies  to  the  invitations  are  published 
below.  § 

The  following  is  the  form  of  the  invitation  that  was  sent  to 
inventors  and  others  whose  presence  at  the  Celebration  seemed 
desirable. 


CELEBRATION  OF  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  SECOND  CENTURY 
OF  THE  AMERICAN  PATENT  SYSTEM  BY  INVENTORS 
AND  MANUFACTURERS  OF  PATENTED  INVENTIONS,  IN 
THE  CITY  OF  WASHINGTON,  April  8,  9,  10,  1891. 

DEAR  SIR  :  You  are  cordially  invited  to  become  a  member 
of  the  Congress  of  Inventors  and  Manufacturers  of  Inventions, 
to  be  held  in  the  City  of  Washington,  April  8,  9,  10,  1891,  to 
celebrate  the  beginning  of  the  Second  Century  of  the  American 
Patent  System,  which  marks  so  important  an  epoch  in  the 
history  of  the  Nation. 

The  centennial  anniversaries  of  other  important  National 
events  have  been  celebrated  in  a  manner  worthy  of  a  people 
proud  of  their  country  and  its  growth. 

Not  less  worthy  of  commendation  is  the  system  which  has 
aided  the  agriculturist  in  the  field,  the  mechanic  in  the  shop, 
and  the  toiler  in  the  mine ;  and  has  stimulated  invention  in 
every  department  of  modern  industry. 

In  the  belief  that  American  Inventors  and  Manufacturers 
will  regard  it  a  privilege  as  well  as  a  duty  to  cooperate  in  the 
movement,  definite  steps  have  been  taken  to  hold  this  celebra- 
tion, which  shall  in  a  fitting  manner  commemorate  the  import- 
ant event  and  place  on  record  the  Nation's  appreciation  of  the 
labors  of  those  whose  ingenuity,  patience  and  tireless  effort 
have  exercised  such  a  potent  influence  in  accelerating  the 
prosperous  growth  of  the  Nation,  and  in  aiding  the  progress  of 
our  civilization. 

It  is  expected  that  one  of  the  outgrowths  of  this  Congress 
will  be  a  National  Association  of  Inventors  and  Manufacturers 
of  Inventions,  the  necessity  for  which  Association  has  fre- 
quently been  discussed.  No  time  could  be  more  opportune 
for  the  organization  of  such  a  society. 


10  HISTORY   OF    THE    MOVEMENT. 

It  is  earnestly  hoped  that  you  will  take  part  in  this  celebra- 
tion. 

If  you  desire  to  accept  this  invitation,  you  are  requested  to 
sign  your  name  to  the  enclosed  blank,  and  to  forward  it,  accom- 
panied by  a  fee  of  five  dollars,  to  Col.  A.  T.  Britton,  President 
American  Security  and  Trust  Co. ,  and  Treasurer  Patent  Cele- 
bration Fund,  1419  G  street  N.  w. 

This  action  will  constitute  you  a  member  of  the  Patent  Cen- 
tennial Congress  and  will  entitle  you  to  attend  the  public 
meetings  (admission  to  which  will  be  by  ticket) ,  as  well  as  the 
proposed  excursion  to  Mount  Vernon  on  the  anniversary  of 
the  signing  of  the  first  American  Patent  Law  by  Washington. 

Kach  member  will  receive  all  the  publications  of  the  Con- 
gress, which  are  expected  to  consist  of  two  or  more  hand- 
somely printed  volumes  which  shall  contain  the  addresses 
delivered  at  the  celebration  by  the  eminent  statesmen  and 
political  economists  whose  names  appear  upon  the  programme, 
together  with  a  series  of  biographies  of  the  great  American 
inventors.  These  volumes  will  contain  the  most  valuable 
contributions  to  the  history  of  invention  and  the  American 
Patent  System  ever  published. 

In  behalf  of  the  Executive  Committee. 

J.  B.  W  ATKINS, 

Secretary. 


To.. 


Regulations  governing  the  preliminary  arrangements  for 
the  Celebration  were  adopted  by  the  Central  Committee  and 
published  early  in  February,  substantially  as  follows  : 


HISTORY   OF    THE    MOVEMENT.  II 

ORGANIZATION,    LIST    OF    COMMITTEES, 
DUTIES,  ETC. 


THE  ADVISORY  COMMITTEE. 

A  first  act  was  to  secure  the  earnest  cooperation  of  men 
prominent  in  official  positions,  high  in  literary  and  scientific 
attainments,  and  actively  interested  in  the  welfare  and  growth 
of  our  country,  to  give  support  to  this  undertaking.  The 
letters  placed  on  file  from  the  gentlemen  named  below,  selected 
as  an  Advisory  Committee,  were  of  the  most  inspiring  character 
and  express  the  warmest  sympathy  with  the  movement : 

HON.  H.  M.  TELLER,  Chairman,  Committee  on  Patents,  U.  S. 

Senate. 
HON.  O.  H.  PLATT  and  HON.  GEORGE  GRAY,  Members  of 

Committee  on  Patents,  U.  S.  Senate. 
HON.    BENJAMIN  BUTTERWORTH,    Chairman,  Committee 

on  Patents,  House  of  Representatives. 
HON.  H.  E.  PAINE,  Ex-Commissioner  of  Patents. 
HON.  ELLIS  SPEAR,  Ex-Commissioner  of  Patents. 
HON.  E.  M.  MARBLE,  Ex-Commissioner  of  Patents. 
HON.  M.  V.  MONTGOMERY,  Ex-Commissioner  of  Patents. 
Coi,.  F.  A.  SEELY,  Principal  Examiner,  U.  S.  Patent  Office. 
J.  B.  MARVIN,  Chief  of  Draughtsman's  Division,  U.  S.  Patent 

Office. 

PROF.  A.  GRAHAM  BELL. 

PROF.  S.  P.  LANGLEY,  Secretary,  Smithsonian  Institution. 
DR.  G.  BROWN  GOODE,  Assistant  Secretary  in  Charge,  U.  S. 

National  Museum. 

MAJOR  JOHN  W.  POWELL,  Director,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 
PROF.  T.  C.  MENDENHALL,  Superintendent,  U.  S.  Coast  and 

Geodetic  Survey. 

HON.  A.  R.  SPOFFORD,  Librarian  of  Congress. 
HON.  EDWARD  WILLITS,  Assistant  Secretary  of  Agrculture. 
Coi,.   A.   T.    BRITTON,    President,    American    Security    and 

Trust  Co. 

DR.  J.  C.  WELLING,  President,  Columbian  University. 
REV.  J.  HAVENS  RICHARDS,  President,  Georgetown  Uni 

versity. 

T.  E.  WAGGAMAN,  Trustee,  Catholic  University  of  America. 
REV.  J.  E.  RANKIN,  President,  Howard  University. 
REV.  BYRON  SUNDERLAND. 
HON.  THOMAS  WILSON,  Smithsonian  Institution. 
HON.  JAMES  BUCHANAN  and  HON.  GEORGE  D!   TILL- 

MAN,  Members  of  Committee  on  Patents,  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives. 


12  HISTORY   OF    THE    MOVEMENT. 

HON.  CHARLES  ELIOT  MITCHELL,  Commissioner  of 
Patents. 

HON.  ROBERT  J.  FISHER,  Assistant  Commissioner  of 
Patents. 

Coiv.  MARSHALL  MCDONALD,  Commissioner  of  Fish  and 
Fisheries. 

HON.  CARROLL  D.  WRIGHT,  Commissioner  of  Labor. 

GEN.  A.  W.  GREELY,  Chief  Signal  Officer,  U.  S.  A. 

GEN.  M.  C.  MEIGS,  U.  S.  A.* 

COMMODORE  WM.  M.  FOLGER,  U.  S.  A. 

SURGEON  JOHN  S.  BILLINGS,  Army  Medical  Museum. 

CAPTAIN  R.  W.  MEADE,  U.  S.  N. 

GENERAL  W.  S.  ROSECRANS,  Register,  U.  S.  Treasury. 

DR.  F.  O.  ST.  CLAIR,  Chief  of  Consular  Bureau,  Depart- 
ment of  State. 

HON.  J.  W.  DOUGLASS,  Commissioner,  District  of  Columbia. 

HON.  J.  W.  ROSS,  Commissioner,  District  of  Columbia. 

Coi,.  H.  M.  ROBERT,  Commissioner,  District  of  Columbia. 

HON.  M.  G.  EMERY,  President,  Second  National  Bank. 

J.  M.   TONER,  M.  D. 

GEORGE  C.  MAYNARD. 

HON.  SIMON  WOLF. 

A.  L.  BARBER,  President,  Barber  Asphalt  Co. 

CROSBY  S.  NO  YES,  Editor,  Evening  Star. 

HON.  BERIAH  WILKINS,  Daily  Post. 

GEN.  H.  V.  BOYNTON. 

CHAS.  A.  ELLIOT. 

A.  D.    ANDERSON,  Secretary,  Board  of  Trade. 

Coi,.  WM.  M.  MEREDITH,  Chief,  Bureau  Engraving  and 
Printing. 


THE  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 

By  resolution  of  the  Central  Committee  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee is  charged  ' '  with  the  duty  of  arranging  the  program 
for  the  celebration  ' ' ;  and  all  other  committees  are  directed  to 
"  report  to  and  receive  their  instructions  from  the  Executive 
Committee";  "no  indebtedness  shall  be  incurred,  except  by 
the  authority  of  the  Executive  Committee,  and  no  expendi- 
tures shall  be  made  from  the  funds  collected  for  the  purposes 
of  the  celebration  except  upon  vouchers  approved  by  said 
committee." 

*  Gen.  M.  C.  Meigs  was  elected  chairman  of  this  committee  at  its  first  meeting,  and 
served  in  that  capacity  at  each  subsequent  meeting. 


HISTORY   OF    THE    MOVEMENT.  13 

The  chairman  of  each  sub-committee  will  be  ex-officio  a 
member  of  the  Executive  Committee  when  matters  pertaining 
exclusively  to  his  committee  are  under  consideration. 

The  Executive  Committee  will  determine  the  time  and  place 
or  places  for  holding  the  public  meetings,  and  the  character 
of  the  literary  exercises  and  entertainments  afforded  the  mem- 
bers of  the  convention ;  and  also  have  the  general  oversight 
and  arrangement  of  all  affairs  pertaining  to  the  celebration. 

It  will  prepare  and  issue  to  the  public  and  distribute  to  in- 
dividuals, in  the  best  possible  way,  such  circulars,  letters  and 
invitations  as  will  secure  a  full  attendance  of  those  persons 
whose  cooperation  is  desired. 

It  will  cause  to  be  printed  and  bound  the  volumes  of  the 
papers  read  at  the  literary  sessions  of  the  Congress,  together 
with  such  portions  of  the  proceedings  of  the  business  sessions 
as  may  be  determined  upon,  and  will  forward  to  each  member 
of  the  convention,  who  has  paid  a  membership  fee  of  five  dol- 
lars, one  copy  thereof. 

It  will  provide  tickets  of  admission  to  the  literary  and  busi- 
ness sessions  of  the  convention,  and  to  all  entertainments  and 
receptions,  and  determine  the  regulations  under  which  they 
shall  be  distributed. 

All  sub-committees  will  report  to  the  Executive  Committee 
at  least  once  a  week  (on  Tuesday  evening),  and  oftener  if 
necessary,  at  the  rooms  at  No.  811  G  street,  which  will  be 
open  daily  from  9  A.  M.  to  5  P.  M.  until  the  close  of  the  con- 
vention. 

Sub-committees  can  hold  their  meetings  in  these  rooms  by 
giving  notice  to  the  Secretary. 

HON.  JOHN  LYNCH,  Chairman. 

J.  ELFRETH  WATKINS,  Secretary.      MARVIN  C.  STONE. 
JOHN  W.  BABSON.  GEORGE  C.  MAYNARD. 


14  HISTORY   OF    THE    MOVEMENT. 

THE  COMMITTEE  ON  LITERATURE. 

The  Committee  on  literature  will  designate  what  subjects 
shall  be  discussed  at  the  public  exercises  and  will  provide  the 
persons  to  deliver  the  addresses^  and  will  receive,  examine  and 
prepare  for  publication,  or  other  proper  disposition,  such  addi- 
tional addresses  or  paperfe  as  may  be  offered. 

DR.  G.  BROWN  GOODE,  Chairman. 
HON.  AINSWORTH  R.  SPOFFORD.        I^EWELLYN  DEANE. 


THE  FINANCE  COMMITTEE. 

The  Finance  Committee  will  be  charged  with  the  duty  of  ob- 
taining the  necessary  funds  for  the  expenses  of  the  celebration, 
giving  suitable  acknowledgment  to  all  persons  contributing. 
All  funds  when  collected  will  be  paid  over  to  Col.  A.  T.  Brit- 
ton,  Treasurer. 

The  character  and  value  of  the  papers  to  be  read  before  the 
Congress  by  the  eminent  gentlemen  who  have  volunteered  to 
prepare  them  being  such  that  their  preservation  is  desired,  it 
has  been  determined  to  publish  them  in  book  form,  together 
with  such  portions  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Association  as 
may  be  determined  upon.  These  will  make  one  or  more 
volumes  of  400  pages.  Each  subscriber  will  be  entitled  to  a 
copy,  together  with  a  ticket  of  admission  to  all  public  meet- 
ings of  the  Congress,  and  to  all  excursions,  entertainments  and 
receptions,  upon  the  payment  of  a  fee  of  five  dollars. 

From  these  fees  it  is  expected  that  a  large  revenue  will  be 
derived,  and  that  the  first  receipts  will  be  available  sufficiently 
early  to  so  far  provide  for  current  expenses  that  twenty  per 
cent,  only  *of  the  subscriptions  will  be  called  for  before 
March  3ist. 

Subsequent  calls  will  be  determined  by  the  receipts  of  fees. 
No  more  calls  will  be  made  than  are  necessary  to  meet  exi- 
gencies. Whatever  funds  accumulating  from  membership  fees 
remain  on  hand  after  the  expenses  of  the  convention  are  paid 


HISTORY  OF    THE   MOVEMENT.  15 

will  be  returned  to  the  subscribers  to  the  guarantee  fund,  and 
pro  rata  to  the  amount  paid  in. 

JOSEPH  K.  McCAMMON,  Chairman,  1420  F  street. 

HON.  W.  W.  DUDLEY,  Pacific  Building. 

REGINALD  FENDALL,  344  D  street. 

H.  V.  PARSELL,  458  Pennsylvania  avenue. 

JAMES  T.  DUBOIS,  715  Eleventh  street. 

GEO.  C.  MAYNARD,  1409  New  York  avenue. 

JOHN  C.  POOR,  411  Tenth  street. 

CHAS.  E.  FOSTER,  931  F  street. 

JAMES  H.  GRID  LEY,  Pacific  Building. 

HON.  WM.  McMICHAEL,  Mills  Building,  N.  Y. 

CHARLES  C.  LISTER,  Drexel  Building,  Phila. 

HON.  J.  W.  WHELPLEY,  300  East  Capitol  street. 

WHARTON  MCKNIGHT,  44  Penn.  avenue,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 

M.  I.  WELLER,  326  Pennsylvania  avenue,  S.  E. 

MUNN  &  CO.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

CAPT.  GEO.  E.  LEMON,  615  Fifteenth  street  N.  W. 


COMMITTEE  ON  PUBLIC  COMFORT. 

This  committee  will  negotiate  for  quarters,  either  at  hotels 
or  private  houses,  for  persons  desiring  them,  and  will  invite 
and  obtain  the  names,  addresses  and  rates  of  such  householders 
as  will  furnish  accommodations  for  visitors.  They  will  keep 
a  list  of  obtainable  accommodations  at  headquarters,  811  G 
street  northwest,  from  which  information  can  be  given  to 
those  who  apply  in  person  or  by  letter,  and  will  take  such 
other  steps  as  will,  in  their  opinion,  insure  the  comfort  of  the 
guests. 

W.  C.  DODGE,  Chairman. 

W.  G.  HENDERSONV  F.  E.  TASKER, 

J.  H.  WHITAKER,  HENRY  CALVER, 

W.  H.  FINCKEL,  NELSON  J.  DITTO, 

E.  T.  FENWICK,  A.  M.  SMITH, 

L.  W.  SINSABAUGH,  R.  S.  LACEY, 

T.  J.  JOHNSON,  JAMES  A.  ASHLEY, 

BENJAMIN  POOLE,  HENRY  H.  BLISS, 

J.  L.  EWIN,  JAMES  F.  DUHAMEL, 

A.  H.  EVANS,  G.  H.  HOWARD, 

C.  J.  GOOCH,  M.  E.  GREGG. 


i6 


HISTORY   OF    THE    MOVEMENT. 


THE  RECEPTION  COMMITTEE. 

Upon  the  Reception  Committee  will  devolve  the  duty  of 
receiving  and  extending  proper  Courtesies  to  distinguished 
guests  during  their  stay,  and  the  providing  of  sub-committees 
to  be  in  attendance  at  receptions  and  entertainments,  and,  as 
may  be  necessary,  at  the  sessions  of  the  Convention. 

WM.  CRANCH  MclNTIRE,  Chairman. 

LAWRENCE,  Vice-Chairman. 
FRANK  HUME, 
CHARLES  EARLY, 
GEO.  M.  LOCKWOOD, 
JNO.  PAUL  JONES, 
R.  H.  VOORHEES, 
E.  E.  ELLIS, 
EUGENE  PETERS, 
OCTAVIUS  KNIGHT, 
R.  D.  S.  TYLER, 

C.  A.  SNOW, 
LLOYD  B.  WIGHT, 
W.  T.  FITZGERALD, 
W.  D.  CABELL, 

E.  G.  DAVIS, 
B.  LEWIS  BLACKFORD, 
GEO.  W.  CASILEAR, 
EDWIN  LAMASURE, 

D.  P.   LIEBHARDT, 

E.  M.  DAWSON, 
FRED.  BRACKETT, 
JOHN  TWEEDALE, 
PROF.  HARRY  KING, 
W.  V.  COX, 

A.  HOWARD  CLARK, 
WALTER  HOUGH, 
DR.  THOMAS  TAYLOR, 
PHILIP  WALKER, 
MAGNUS  S.  THOMPSON, 
N*S.  FAWCETTE, 
HENRY  W.  RAYMOND, 
Coi,.  F.  G.  BUTTERFIELD, 
MARTIN  B.  BAILEY, 
E.  A.  DICK, 
THOS.  S.  HOPKINS, 
JAS.  W.  WHITE, 
J.  LOWRIE  BELL, 
ARNOLD  B.  JOHNSON, 
W.  J.  HOFFMAN, 
JAMES  A.  RUTHERFORD. 


A.  A.  WILSON, 

MARCELLUS  BAILEY, 

M.  W.  GALT, 

L.  P.  WRIGHT, 

HON.  THOMAS  WILSON, 

JAMES  P.  WILLETT, 

DR.  WM.  B.  FRENCH, 

O.  C.  GREEN, 

DR.  G.  W.  HARRIS, 

ROBERT  BOYD, 

JOHN  KEYWORTH, 

L.  J.  DAVIS, 

J.  J.  HALSTED, 

R.  G.  Du  BOIS, 

M.  W.  BEVERIDGE, 

JNO.  A.  BAKER, 

GEORGE  E.  LEMON, 

R.  G.  DYRENFORTH, 

G.  T.  HOWARD, 

H.  SEMKEN, 

GEO.  W.  COCHRAN, 

W.  H.  COLLINS, 

W.  B.  COOLEY, 

HENRY  SHERWOOD, 

FRANK  R.  WILLIAMS, 

H.  S.  EVERETT, 

H.  L.  CRANFORD, 

T.  M.  GALE, 

T.  H.  ALEXANDER, 

CLEM.  W.  HOWARD, 

H.  O.  TOWLES, 

DR.  D.  S.  LAMB, 

GEO.  B.  WILLIAMS, 

J.  J.  HARROVER, 

H.  A.  SEYMOUR, 

JNO.  F.  WAGGAMAN, 

PHILIP  T.  DODGE, 

WM.  F.  MATTINGLY, 

JAMES  F.  BARBOUR, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  MOVEMENT.  17 

COMMITTEE  ON  TRANSPORTATION. 

This  committee  will  by  interviews  and  correspondence  en- 
deavor to  secure  reduced  railroad  and  steamboat  rates  from  all 
points  in  the  United  States  to  this  city,  for  the  members  of  the 
Congress  and  their  friends  who  accompany  them.  They  will 
also  be  charged  with  the  duty  of  making  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments for  the  excursion  to  Mount  Vernon. 

Coi,.  W.  B.  THOMPSON,  Chairman. 

JAMES  L.  TAYLOR,  C.  C.  SCULL, 

GEORGE  W.  BOYD,  CHARLES  R.  BISHOP, 

W.  P.  CAMPBELL,  CAPT.  W.  T.  ROESSLE, 

C.  C.  DUNCANSON,  CAPT.  A.  A.  THOMAS, 

S.  M.  BRYAN,  MORRELL  MAREAN, 

.  CHAS  C.  ALLIBONE,  Coi,.  JOS.  C.  McKIBBEN. 


THE  COMMITTEE  ON  HALLS. 

This  committee  will  be  charged  with  the  duty  of  obtaining 
a  hall  for  the  principal  place  of  meeting  for  the  convention, 
and  such  other  halls  as  may  be  needed  for  special  or  overflow 
meetings,  and  seeing  that  they  are  properly  arranged  and  sup- 
plied with  the  requisite  attendants  and  conveniences. 

M.  D.  HELM,  Chairman. 

F.  W.  PRATT,  F.  C.  SOMES, 

W.  H.  RAPLEY,  WARREN  H.  ORCUTT, 

W.  X.  STEVENS,  AUGUST  PETERSON, 

B.  R.  CATLIN,  GEO.  S.  PRINDLE, 

T.  J.  W.  ROBERTSON,  EUGENE  W.  JOHNSON, 

W.  H.  SINGLETON,  H.  H.  DOUBLEDAY, 

HERVEY  S.  KNIGHT,  W.  P.  KENNEDY, 

F.  A.  LEHMANN,  J.  NOTA  McGILL, 

WM.  E.  BOULTER,  H.  N.  LOW. 


THE  COMMITTEE  ON  BADGES  AND  MEDALS. 

This  committee  shall  cause  designs  for  badges  and  medals 
and  the  cost  thereof  to  be  submitted  to  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee for  approval,  and,  when  authorized,  secure  and  deliver 


i8 


HISTORY   OF    THE   MOVEMENT. 


the  same  to  the  chairman  of  the  several  committees  or  officers 
for  appropriate  distribution. 

SCHUYLER  DURYEE,  Chairman. 


V.  D.  STOCKBRIDGE, 
W.  A.  BARTLETT, 
ALEX.  S.  STEWART, 
P.  G.  RUSSELL, 
G.  P.  WHITTLESEY, 
J.  R.  LITTELL, 
C.  H.  FOWLER, 


W.  H.  DOOLITTLE, 
F.  L.  BROWNE, 
LLOYD  B.  WIGHT, 
A.  S.  BROWNE, 
WALLACE  GREENE. 
P.  MAURO, 
DR.  F.  W.  RITTER, 


C.  L.  STURTEVANT. 


COMMITTEE  ON  PRESS. 

The  Committee  on  Press  will  make  arrangements  for  the 
collection  and  dissemination  of  news,  and  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  Press,  extending  to  them  all  necessary  facilities. 
S.  H.  KAUFFMANN,  Chairman,  Evening  Star. 
F.  A.  RICHARDSON, 

Baltimore  Sun. 
RICHARD  NIXON, 

N.  O.  Times. 
H.  W.  SPOFFORD, 

Scranton  Republican. 
W.  B.  STEVENS, 

St.  Louis  Globe-Democrat. 
F.  A.  G.    HANDY, 

Chicago  Tribune. 
O.  O.  STEALEY, 

Louisville  Courier-Journal. 
M.  G.  SECKENDORF, 
N.  Y.  Tribune. 

JULES  GUTHRIDGE, 

N.  Y.  Herald. 
PAUL  WOLFF, 

Staats-Zeitung . 
W.  G.  STERRETT, 

Galveston  News. 
RICHARD  WEIGHTMAN, 

Age-Herald,  Birmingham,  Ala. 
O.   P.  AUSTIN, 

Press  News  Association. 
E.    B.  WIGHT, 

Boston  Journal. 
E.  C.  ROWLAND, 

Philadelphia  Press. 
LOUIS  J.  LANG, 

N.  Y.' Press. 


FRANK  HATTON, 
Post. 

D.  R.  McKEE, 

^Associated  Press. 

H.  V.  BOYNTON, 

Commercial  Gazette. 

JEROME  J.  WILBER, 
Associated  Press. 

j.  H.  SOUL£, 

Sunday  Herald. 
EDWARD  W.  BRADY, 

Critic. 
JOHN  M.  CARSON, 

Philadelphia  Ledger. 

JOHN  MCELROY, 

National  Tribune. 

W.  L.  CROUNSE, 
N.  Y.  World. 

W.  E.  CURTIS, 

Chicago  News. 

p.  v.  DKGRAW, 

United  Press. 

E.  G.  DUNNELL, 

N.  Y.  Times. 

J.  J.  NOAH, 

Kansas  City  Times. 

LUTHER  B.  LITTLE, 

St.  Paul  Pioneer  Press. 

RANDOLPH  KEIM, 
Philadelphia  Inquirer. 


WILLIAM   C.  FOX. 


HISTORY   OF    THE   MOVEMENT.  19 

COMMITTEE  ON  Music. 

The  Committee  on  Music  will  be  charged  with  the  duty  of 
providing  such  instrumental  and  vocal  music  as  may  be  deter- 
mined upon  for  the  sessions  of  the  convention,  excursions, 
receptions  and  parades,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Execu- 
tive Committee. 

W.  R.  LAPHAM,  Chairman. 

W.  D.  McFARLAND,  W.  R.  B.  ATKINSON, 

H.  O.  SIMONS,  J.  C.  PENNIE, 

J.  R.  EDSON,  J.  R.  NOTTINGHAM, 

GEORGE  R.  BYINGTON,  F.  D.  JOHNS, 

L.  S.  BACON,  FRANK  L.  MIDDLETON. 

F.  H.  HOUGH,  WILL  E.  DYRE, 

FRANK  L.  DYER,  H.  J.  ENNIS. 


COMMITTEE  ON  CARRIAGES. 

The  Committee  on  Carriages  will  make  arrangements  with 
the  livery  stables  to  provide  sufficient  and  suitable  carriages 
for  the  use  of  the  members  of  the  convention  while  in  the  city 
at  reasonable  and  uniform  rates,  to  be  furnished  upon  tele- 
phonic call  of  the  committee  or  a  request  by  its  authority. 

A  representative  of  the  committee  will  be  on  duty  at  head- 
quarters, 811  G  street,  during  the  time  of  the  convention. 

O.  E.  DUFFY,  Chairman. 

A.  E.  H.  JOHNSON,  ALLEN  S.  PATTISON, 

HENRY  ORTH,  HERBERT  E.  PECK, 

CHAS.  S.  JONES,  W.  E.  AUGHINBAUGH, 

W.  N.  MOORE,  GEORGE  W.  STOKES, 

HARRY  F.  SLOCUM,  FREDERICK  A.  HOLTON, 

SHIPLEY  BRASHEARS,  WALTER  ALLEN, 

CPIAS.  J.  STOCKMAN,  JAMES  L.  SKIDMORE. 

EDSON  S.  DENSMORE, 

COMMITTEE  ON  PARADE  AND  MILITARY  ORGANIZATIONS. 

Returning  from  the  excursion  to  Mount  Vernon  on  Friday, 
April  loth,  by  invitation  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  the  boat 
will  land  at  the  Navy  Yard,  and  an  opportunity  will  be  given 
the  inventors  and  their  friends  to  inspect  the  ordnance  shops, 
after  which  a  military  parade  from  that  point  through  the  city 
is  contemplated.  The  Secretary  of  War  has  already  given 


20  HISTORY   OF    THE   MOVEMENT. 

favorable  consideration  to  the  matter,  and  it  is  expected  that 
the  Regular  Army  and  the  District  National  Guard  and  the 
High  School  Cadets  will  participate.  The  arrangements  are 
under  the  charge  of  the  following  committee  : 

GEN.  ALBERT  ORDWAY,  Chairman. 
GEN.  CECIL  CLAY,  MAJ.  W.  C.  McINTlRE, 

Coi,.  W.  G.  MOORE,  MAJ.  T.  M.  GALE, 

F.  N.  LANE. 


COMMITTEE  ON  BANQUET. 

If  it  be  determined  to  hold  a  banquet  during  or  at  the  close 
of  the  Convention,  the  arrangements  therefor  will  be  placed  in 
the  hands  of  the  following  committee,  who  will  make  due 
announcement  of  the  time,  place,  etc. : 

LAWRENCE  GARDNER,  Chairman. 

A.  B.  BROWNE,  RHESA  G.  DuBOIS, 

WALTER  JOHNSON,  FRED.  W.  PRATT, 

JOHN  JOY  EDSON,  H.  L.  BISCOE, 

JOHN  W.  BOTELER,  WM.  J.  STEPHENSON, 

JOHN  C.  EDWARDS,  R.  G.  MONROE, 

WM.  R.  SINGLETON,  E.  W.  ANDERSON, 

C.  S.  WHITMAN,  A.  A.  CONNOLLY. 


SPECIAL  COMMITTEE   FOR    THE    RECEPTION    OF    FOREIGN 
OFFICIALS  AND  GUESTS. 

As  it  is  desirable  to  pay  special  attention  to  official  and 
other  foreign  guests  who  may  be  present  in  response  to  invita- 
tions sent  to  the  Patent  Offices,  Societies,  and  distinguished 
citizens  of  other  countries,  that  duty  has  been  devolved  upon 
a  special  committee,  consisting  of 

GEN.  CYRUS  BUSSEY,  Chairman. 

HON.  ROBERT  P.  PORTER,        EUGENE  M.  JOHNSON, 
A.  S.  SOLOMONS,  ANTHONY  POLLOCK, 

HON.  THOMAS  WILSON,  HENRY  ORTH, 

HON.  N.  L.  FROTHINGHAM,     LOUIS  BAGGER, 
EDWIN  B.  HAY,  GUSTAV  BISSING, 

ALVA  S.  TABOR,  FRANCIS  R.  FAVER,  JR. 

GEN.  L.  T.  MICHENOR,  JOSE  M.  YZNAGA, 

M.  L.  MORRIS,  WILLIAM  H.  BECK, 

JOSE)  J.  RODRIGUEZ. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 


FIRST  MEETING. 

The  Congress  of  Inventors  and  Manufacturers  of  Inventions  to 
celebrate  the  Beginning  of  the  Second  Century  of  the  American 
Patent  System  convened  at  the  Academy  of  Music  (formerly 
Lincoln  Music  Hall)  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  Wednesday,  April 
8,  1891,  at  2:30  p.  m.  The  first  meeting  was  presided  over  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  among  other  distin- 
guished guests  upon  the  stage  were  Hon.  John  W.  Noble, 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  ;  Hon.  John  Wanamaker,  Postmaster- 
General  ;  Prof.  S.  P.  Langley,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  ;  General  Cyrus  Bussey,  Assistant  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  ;  Hon.  Edwin  Willits,  Assistant  Secretary  of  Agri- 
culture;  Senators  O.  H.  Platt  and  J.  W.  Daniel;  Hon.  John 
H.  Pope,  Minister  of  Agriculture,  Canada ;  Mr.  Wm.  J. 
I/ynch,  Cashier,  and  Mr.  J.  McCabe,  Chief  Examiner  of  the 
Patent  Office,  Ottawa,  Canada;  Hon.  Charles  E.  Mitchell, 
Commissioner  of  Patents ;  Hon.  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Commis- 
sioner of  Labor ;  Mr.  E.  W.  Halford,  and  the  Commissioners 
of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

The  boxes  were  occupied  by  Prof.  Alexander  Graham  Bell, 
the  inventor  of  the  telephone,  Hon.  Gardiner  G.  Hubbard,  and 
their  families.  Mrs.  Amanda  Vail,  the  widow  of  Alfred  Vail, 
who  designed  and  constructed  the  first  complete  magneto- 
electric  telegraph  instrument,  and  who  was  associated  with 
Prof.  Morse  in  the  invention  of  the  electric  telegraph,  was  an 
honored  guest  upon  the  stage.  In  the  audience  were  seated 
many  distinguished  inventors,  among  them  being  Dr.  Gat- 
ling,  General  Berdan,  George  W.  Maynard  (son  of  Dr.  Edward 
Maynard),  inventor  of  guns,  rifles  and  ammunition  ;  Frederick 
E.  Sickles,  inventor  of  the  Sickles  engine  cut-off  and  the  steam 
steering  apparatus  ;  E.  Berliner,  of  telephone  and  phonograph 
fame  ;  D.  G.  Weems,  inventor  of  the  fast-speed  electrical  loco- 
motive and  railway  ;  Colonel  Price,  of  Scranton,  Pa.,  inventor 


22  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS, 

of  appliances  to  utilize  coal  dust ;  Thomas  Shaw,  of  Phila- 
delphia, inventor  of  apparatus  to  purify  and  regulate  the 
ventilation  of  coal  mines  ;  John  Y.  Smith,  of  Doylestown,  Pa., 
whose  patented  air-brakes  are  in  use  on  many  European  rail- 
ways. There  were  also  many  other  distinguished  men  present 
who  have  aided  in  the  world's  progress  by  their  inventive 
genius. 

After  an  overture  by  the  orchestra,  Hon.  John  I^ynch,  Chair- 
man of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Patent  Celebration, 
announced  the  following  officers  of  the  * '  Congress  of  Inventors 
and  Manufacturers  of  the  United  States  assembled  to  celebrate 
the  Beginning  of  the  Second  Century  of  the  American  Patent 
System"— 

President— The  President  of  the  United  States. 

Vice- Presidents — Hon.  John  W.  Noble,  Secretary  of  the  In- 
terior ;  Hon.  Frederick  Fraley,  President  National  Board  of 
Trade  ;  Prof.  Samuel  P.  Langley,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  and  Prof.  Alexander  Graham  Bell,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Honorary  Vice- Presidents — General  Russell  A.  Alger,  De- 
troit, Mich.;  Prof.  W.  A.  Anthony,  Manchester,  Conn.,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers  ;  John  Birkinbine, 
Philadelphia,  President  of  the  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers  ; 
Mr.  Justice  Bradley,  United  States  Supreme  Court ;  Hon. 
B.  K.  Bruce,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Charles  F.  Brush,  Cleveland, 
Ohio  ;  General  Thomas  L,.  Casey,  Chief  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  A.; 
Octave  Chanute,  Chicago,  President  of  the  American  Society 
of  Civil  Engineers  ;  George  W.  Childs,  editor  and  publisher, 
Philadelphia  ;  Thomas  A.  Edison,  Menlo  Park,  N.  J.;  Norvin 
Green,  President  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company, 
New  York ;  Hon.  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  New  York ;  Hon. 
Gardiner  G.  Hubbard,  President  National  Geographical  So- 
ciety, Washington,  D.  C.;  Hon.  John  Jay,  President  of  the 
American  Historical  Association  ;  Charles  F.  Mayer,  President 
of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  Baltimore ; 
Prof.  T.  C.  Mendenhall,  Washington,  D.  C.;  Oberlin  Smith, 
President  of  the  Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers,  Bridgeton, 
N.  J.  ;  Elihu  Thomson,  L,ynn,  Mass.;  Frank  Thomson,  Esq., 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  23 

Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  Philadelphia,  and  Joseph  M. 
Wilson,  Philadelphia,  President  of  the  Franklin  Institute. 

The  President  being   introduced   by  Chairman  L,ynch,   ad- 
dressed the  Congress,  as  follows  : 


OPENING  ADDRESS  BY  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES. 

My  fellow-citizens,  members  of  this  first  convention  of  In- 
ventors and  Manufacturers,  assembled  to  observe  the  Centennial 
of  the  Patent  System  of  the  United  States :  My  connection 
with  this  meeting  must  necessarily  be  very  brief,  and  may 
seem  to  be  quite  formal.  Other  engagements  will  prevent  the 
enjoyment  by  me  of  the  treat  that  is  in  store  for  you  in  the  ad- 
dresses which  will  be  delivered  by  the  distinguished  men  whose 
names  are  upon  the  programme.  I  can  only  by  my  presence 
here,  and  these  few  introductory  words,  opening  and  constitut- 
ing this  Congress,  express  my  appreciation  of  the  importance 
of  this  occasion,  and  my  hope  that  your  gathering  may  be  pro- 
motive  of  those  branches  of  science  and  art  in  which  you  are 
respectively  interested. 

It  distinctly  marked,  I  think,  a  great  step  in  the  progress  of 
civilization  when  the  law  took  notice  of  property  in  the  fruit 
of  the  mind.  (Applause.) 

Ownership  in  the  clumsy  device  which  savage  hands  fash- 
ioned from  wood  and  stone,  was  obvious  to  the  savage  mind  ; 
but  it  required  a  long  period  to  bring  the  public  to  a  realization 
of  the  fact  that  it  was  quite  as  essential  that  invention,  taking 
shapes  useful  to  men,  should  be  recognized  and  secured  as 
property.  That  is  the  work  of  the  patent  system  as  it  has 
been  established  in  this  country.  It  cannot  be  doubted  by 
any,  I  think,  that  the  security  of  property  in  inventions  has 
been  highly  promotive  of  the  advance  our  country  has  made 
in  the  arts  and  sciences.  (Applause.)  Nothing  more  stimu- 
lates effort  than  security  in  the  results  of  effort.  (Applause.) 

Rev.  Byron  Sunderland,  Pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  then  invoked  the  divine  blessing  upon  the  delibera- 
tions of  the  Congress,  and  gave  thanks  to  the  Supreme  Being 


24  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

for  the  benefits  which  have  accrued  to  the  world  ' '  through  the 
genius  of  men,  inspired  from  on  high." 

After  the  invocation  the  President  placed  the  Congress  in 
charge  of  the  first  Vice- President,  Hon.  John  W.  Noble,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior,  who  introduced  Hon.  Charles  K.  Mitchell, 
U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Patents,  to  address  the  Congress  on 
"The  Birth  and  Growth  of  the  American  Patent  System."* 

This  address  was  followed  by  Senator  O.  H.  Platt,  of  Con- 
necticut, whose  theme  was  "  Invention  and  Advancement,"  a 
scholarly  production,  which  was  received  with  applause. 

''The  Relation  of  Invention  to  lyabor,"  was  discussed  by 
Hon.  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Commissioner  of  L,abor.  During 
this  address  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  headed  by 
Chief  Justice  Fuller,  entered  in  a  body  amid  applause  and 
were  shown  to  seats  upon  the  stage.  This  courtesy  to  their 
distinguished  colleague,  Hon.  Samuel  Blatchford,  who  was  the 
next  speaker,  was  a  most  pleasing  incident  of  the  celebration. 
The  Executive  and  Legislative  branches  of  the  government 
had  already  paid  their  tribute  to  the  long  continued  efficiency 
of  the  American  Patent  System,  and  this  action  by  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  highest  judicial  branch  was  only  needed  to 
render  the  recognition  complete. 

Justice  Blatchford,  who  enjoys  a  high  reputation  as  a  jurist 
versed  in  patent  law,  then  addressed  the  Congress  on  ' ( A  Cen- 
tury of  Patent  I^aw." 

The  last  address  of  the  afternoon  was  delivered  by  Hon. 
Robert  S.  Taylor,  of  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  upon  ' '  The  Epoch- 
Making  Inventions  of  America,"  and  upon  its  conclusion  the 
meeting  was  adjourned  until  7:30  P.  M. 


SECOND   MEETING. 

The  second  meeting  was  called  to  order  at  7:30  P.  M.,  Wed- 
nesday, April  8,  1891,  by  Hon.  John  W.  Noble,  Secretary  of 
the  Interior,  who  delivered  a  timely  address,  wherein  he 

*The  addresses  are  published  in  full,  and,  as  far  as  practicable,  in  the 
order  in  which  they  were  delivered.  See  index. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE    CONGRESS.  25 

referred  to  the  growth  of  the  Interior  Department,  the  import- 
ance of  the  Patent  Office,  the  necessity  for  increasing  its  facil- 
ities, and  spoke  enthusiastically  of  its  future  usefulness  as  a 
factor  of  civilization. 

Secretary  Noble  then  presented  Hon.  John  W.  Daniel,  U.  S. 
Senator  from  Virginia,  who  spoke  of  ' '  The  New  South  as  an 
Outgrowth  of  Invention  and  the  American  Patent  L,aw,"  his 
remarks  being  received  with  applause. 

The  programme  concluded  with  a  paper  from  Hon.  Edwin 
Willits,  Assistant  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  on  "The  Relation 
of  Invention  to  Agriculture. ' ' 


THE  RECEPTION  AT  THE  PATENT  OFFICE. 

After  adjournment,  the  members  of  the  Congress  and  the 
ladies  accompanying  them  repaired  to  the  Patent  Office  to 
attend  the  reception  tendered  in  their  honor  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior  and  the  Commissioner  of  Patents.  The  invita- 
tion, which  was  accepted  by  several  thousand  persons,  read  as 
follows : 

1 '  Congress  of  Inventors  and  Manufacturers  of  Patented  Inven- 
tions for  the  Celebration  of  the  beginning  of  the  Second 
Century  of  the  American  Patent  System. 

' '  The  Executive  Committee  requests  the  presence  of  your- 
self and  ladies  at  a  reception  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
and  Commissioner  of  Patents  in  honor  of  inventors  and  manu- 
facturers, at  the  Patent  Office  Building,  Washington,  Wednes- 
day, April  8th,  1891,  at  9:30  P.  M. 

"JOHN  L,YNCH,  GEORGE  C.  MAYNARD, 

"  J.  W.  BABSON,  MARVIN  C.  STONE, 

"J.  E.  WATKINS. 

"  Present  this  card  at  the  Seventh -street  entrance." 

The  scene  in  the  interior  of  the  Patent  Office  was  a  brilliant 
one.  The  walls  of  the  broad  corridor  on  the  F  street  side  of 
the  building  were  hung  with  flags,  among  which  were  intro- 


26  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

duced  countless  electric  lights.  The  rotunda  in  which  the 
receiving  party  stood  was  ablaze  with  light  and  color.  At  the 
opposite  end  of  the  corridor,  the  large  space  behind  the 
columns  was  furnished  with  rugs  and  divans  as  a  resting  place 
for  those  who  did  not  desire  to  participate  in  the  promenade. 
Mr.  Wm.  Cranch  Mclntire  made  the  introductions  to  Secretary 
Noble,  who  in  turn  presented  each  guest  to  Mrs.  Noble  and 
the  receiving  party,  consisting  of  Commissioner  and  Mrs. 
Mitchell,  Mrs.  Frothingham,  wife  of  the  Assistant  Commis- 
sioner of  Patents  ;  Mrs.  layman,  wife  of  the  Civil  Service  Com- 
missioner ;  the  Misses  Halstead,  the  Misses  Mclntire,  Mrs. 
Woodruff,  of  New  York  ;  Mrs.  George  Bartlett  and  Mrs.  T.  S. 
Bishop,  of  New  Britain,  Conn.,  and  others. 

Among  the  guests  present  were  Assistant  Commissioner 
Frothingham,  Mr.  Robert  Mitchell,  Mrs.  Coston,  Mrs.  Ran- 
dolph Keim,  Miss  Sarah  C.  Deen,  of  Reading ;  Prof,  and  Mrs. 
A.  Graham  Bell,  Dr.  TeunisS.  Hamlin,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  G.  Brown 
Goode,  Senator  Manderson,  Postmaster-General  Wanamaker, 
Gen.  Berdan,  Gen.  Butterfield,  Hon.  Robert  P.  Porter,  Super- 
intendent of  the  Census  ;  Maj.  J.  W.  Powell,  Hon.  John  H. 
Oberly,  Mr.  William  C.  Fox,  Mr.  K.  H.  Fox,  Prof.  W.  D. 
Cabell,  with  a  number  of  young  ladies  ;  Prof,  and  Mrs.  Wood- 
ward, Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Lapham,  Dr.  L,uce,  Mrs.  Kuehling, 
Mrs.  H.  L,.  King,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Byrne,  Dr.  Gatling,  Mr.  Mat- 
thew G.  Emery,  Mr.  H.  K.  Ogden,  Dr.  J.  B.  Hamilton,  Surgeon 
General,  Marine  Hospital  Service  ;  Col.  B.  B.  Hay,  Rev.  Dr. 
Corey,  Senator  Daniel,  Commissioner  Lyman,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Powell,  Hon.  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Mr.  O.  L.  Pruden,  Mr. 
Sevellon  A.  Brown,  Mr.  F.  W.  Smith,  Mr.  F.  W.  Flowers, 
Maj.  Benjamin  F.  Pike,  Mr.  Thomas  S.  Chappell,  Mr.  J.  G. 
Howland,  Mr.  W.  D.  Swan,  Mr.  O.  B.  Brown,  Maj.  J.  P. 
Sanger,  Mr.  J.  N.  Morrison,  Capt.  W.  S.  Patten,  Mr.  A.  C. 
Towner,  Mr.  William  R.  lyapham,  Mr.  William  R.  Ryan,  Mr. 
James  J.  McDonald,  Mr.  Henry  G.  Potter,  Mr.  Kdmond  Mallet, 
Mr.  Manning  M.  Rose,  Mr.  H.  H.  Bates,  Mr.  Roger  Welles, 
Mr.  William  Burke,  Mr.  W.  G.  Perry,  Miss  C.  M.  Richter,  Mr. 
R.  M.  Layden,  Mrs.  D.  W.  Lewis,  Mr.  Charles  P.  Lincoln, 
Mr.  W.  W.  Barker,  Dr.  M.  F.  Gallaher,  Mr.  Frank  H.  Allen, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  H.  Clark,  Mr.  Geo.  C.  Maynard,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  27 

Marvin  C.  Stone,  Hon.  John  Lynch,  Prof,  and  Mrs.  J.  Elfreth 
Watkins  and  Miss  Ruth  Hannah,  Mr.  William  B.  Shaw,  Mr. 
John  W.  Babson,  Mr.  E.  R.  Tyler,  Mr.  J.  W.  Jayne,  Mr. 
George  M.  Holtzman,  Mr.  Frank  R.  Williams,  Mr.  John 
Hyde,  Mr.  Wiliam  C.  Hunt,  and  nearly  every  official  connected 
with  the  Interior  and  the  other  Departments  of  the  government. 


THIRD  PUBLIC  MEETING. 

Hon.  Frederick  Fraley,  President  of  the  National  Board  of 
Trade  and  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  who  was 
expected  to  preside  over  the  third  public  meeting,  held  at  2 
p.  M.,  Thursday,  April  gth,  1891,  was  deterred  from  this  duty 
by  illness.  His  place  was  filled  by  Mr.  Oberlin  Smith,  Past 
President  of  the  Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers,  and  Honor- 
ary Vice- President  of  the  Congress. 

Hon.  Benjamin  Butterworth,  who  was  announced  to  address 
the  Congress  on  "The  Effect  of  Our  Patent  System  on  the 
Material  Development  of  the  United  States, ' '  was  unavoidably 
delayed  in*  Chicago,  rendering  a  change  in  the  programme 
necessary. 

Hon.  A.  R.  Spofford,  Librarian  of  Congress,  who  has  ad- 
ministered the  affairs  of  our  great  national  library  for  twenty  - 
seven  years,  then  read  the  first  paper  of  the  session,  entitled 
' '  The  Copyright  System  of  the  United  States  :  its  Origin  and 
its  Growth." 

Owing  to  the  illness  of  Prof.  Octave  Chanute,  President  of 
the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  his  paper,  next  in 
order  upon  the  programme,  * '  The  Effect  of  Invention  upon  the 
Railroad  and  Other  Means  of  Intercommunication,"  was  read 
by  Prof.  J.  Howard  Gore,  of  the  Columbian  University,  Wash- 
ington. 

' '  The  Inventors  of  the  Telegraph  and  the  Telephone ' '  was 
the  title  of  an  address  delivered  by  Prof.  Thomas  Gray,  of 
Rose  Polytechnic  Institute,  Terre  Haute,  Indiana.  This  ad- 
dress attracted  additional  attention  from  the  fact  that  Professor 
Gray  is  the  author  of  the  articles  on  the  ' '  Telegraph  ' }  and 


28  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

"Telephone"  in  the  last  edition  of  the  Encyclopaedia  Britan- 
nica.  A  further  coincidence  in  connection  with  this  address  was 
the  presence  in  the  audience  of  Mrs.  Alfred  Vail,  widow  of  one 
of  the  inventors  of  the  telegraph  ;  Prof.  Alexander  Graham 
Bell,  the  inventor  of  the  telephone,  and  Mr.  Emilie  Berliner, 
of  telephone  fame. 

Col.  F.  A.  Seely,  a  Principal  Examiner  in  the  Patent  Office, 
contributed  a  paper  on  ' '  International  Protection  of  Industrial 
Property."  The  fact  that  Colonel  Seely  had  only  recently 
been  called  upon  to  represent  the  United  States  in  a  conference 
relating  to  International  Patent  L,aws  at  Madrid,  Spain,  made 
it  possible  for  him  to  utilize  the  results  of  these  deliberations 
in  his  discussion  of  this  important  subject. 

The  last  paper  of  the  afternoon  session,  "  Invention  in  its 
Effect  upon  Household  Economy,"  prepared  by  Dr.  Edward 
Atkinson,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  who  was  unable  to  be 
present,  was  read  by  Prof.  G.  K.  Gilbert,  of  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey.  The  theory  of  this  address  was,  that  we 
pay  many  penalties  for  the  progress  of  invention,  but  these 
penalties  are  being  gradually  removed  by  further  improve- 
ments in  the  same  line. 

The  meeting  then  adjourned  until  7:30  P.  M.,  April  gth,  1891. 


FOURTH  PUBLIC  MEETING. 

Prof.  S.  P.  lyangley,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, presided  over  the  fourth  public  meeting,  which  was 
called  to  order  at  7:30  p.  M.,  April  gth.  He  delivered  a  short 
address,  and  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  in  its  early  days  was  the  inheritor  of  many  of  the 
treasures  of  the  Patent  Office. 

The  presiding  officer  then  introduced  Prof.  William  P. 
Trowbridge,  of  the  School  of  Mines,  Columbia  College,  New 
York,  who  spoke  of  the  ' '  Effect  of  Technological  Schools  upon 
the  Progress  of  Invention, ' '  his  remarks  being  frequently  ap- 
plauded. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  29 

Dr.  Robert  H.  Thurston,  Director  of  Sibley  College,  Cornell 
University,  New  York,  followed  Professor  Trowbridge  with  an 
able  address  on  "The  Invention  of  the  Steam  Engine,"  replete 
with  interesting  facts  and  conclusions  regarding  steam. 

The  third  paper  of  the  evening,  ' '  The  Effect  of  Invention 
upon  the  Progress  of  Electrical  Science,"  was  read  by  Prof. 
Cyrus  F.  Brackett,  of  Princeton  College.  The  fact  that  Pro- 
fessor Brackett  occupies  the  chair  founded  to  commemorate  the 
life  work  of  Professor  Henry,  the  great  discoverer  of  the  laws 
of  electro-magnetism,  rendered  his  selection  to  speak  upon  this 
subject  peculiarly  appropriate. 

Maj.  Clarence  E.  Dutton,  of  the  Ordnance  Department, 
U.  S.  A.,  who  was  to  address  the  Congress  on  "  The  Influence 
of  Invention  upon  the  Implements  and  Munitions  of  Modern 
Warfare, ' '  being  unavoidably  absent  in  Mexico,  his  paper  was 
read  by  Capt.  Rogers  Birnie,  U.  S.  A. 

The  last  address  of  the  evening  was  delivered  by  Prof. 
F.  W.  Clarke,  Chief  Chemist  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey, 
on  ' '  The  Relations  of  Abstract  Scientific  Research  to  Practical 
Invention,  with  Special  Reference  to  Chemistry  and  Physics." 

The  meeting  then  adjourned. 


30  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 


ANNIVERSARY    DAY. 

EXCURSION    TO    MOUNT   VERNON. 

One  hundred  and  one  years  ago — upon  April  10,  1791,  the 
first  American  Patent  L,aw,  "An  Act  to  Promote  the  Progress 
of  the  Useful  Arts,"  was  signed  by  George  Washington.  It 
was  therefore  especially  appropriate  that  this  annversary 
should  be  celebrated  by  an  excursion  to  Washington's  tomb, 
at  Mount  Vernon.  At  1 1  A.  M.  the  steamer  Excelsior  left  her 
wharf,  carrying  six  hundred  people.  The  Naval  Band  from 
Annapolis  accompanied  the  excursionists  by  permission  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  a  courtesy  which  was  greatly  appre- 
ciated. On  arriving  at  Mount  Vernon  the  Annapolis  Band 
headed  the  procession,  and  a  solemn  march  was  made  up  the 
hill  to  the  tomb,  where,  with  uncovered  heads,  the  visitors 
viewed  the  crypt  containing  the  marble  sarcophagus  of  Wash- 
ington. The  excursionists  then  proceeded  to  the  lawn  in  front 
of  the  mansion,  where  the  large  group  was  photographed  ;  the 
mansion  house  and  its  interesting  historical  relics  were  then 
visited  and  examined,  after  which  Dr.  J.  M.  Toner,  the  orator 
of  the  day,  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Watkins,  Secretary  of  the 
Executive  Committee,  who  said  : 

' '  It  seems  eminently  proper  that  upon  this  important  anni- 
versary you  should  be  addressed  by  one,  a  large  portion  of 
whose  long  life  has  been  devoted  to  preserving  the  history  of 
the  Father  of  our  Country.  As  a  son  of  Virginia,  standing 
upon  this  historic  ground,  it  is  indeed  an  honor  to  be  per- 
mitted to  introduce  the  orator  of  the  day,  Dr.  Toner,  of  Wash- 
ington." 

Dr.  Toner  then  delivered  an  address  upon  ' '  Washington  as 
an  Inventor  and  Promoter  of  Useful  Arts." 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  exercises  the  party  proceeded  to 
the  steamboat,  where  a  felicitous  address  was  delivered  on  the 
return  trip  by  ex- Commissioner  of  Patents  Hon.  Benjamin 
Butterworth,  upon  ' '  The  Influence  of  the  Patent  System  on 
the  Prosperity  of  the  Country."  At  the  close  of  Mr.  Butter- 
worth's  stirring  address,  the  Canadian  Commissioner  of  Patents 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  31 

spoke  briefly,  congratulating  the  government  and  the  various 
committees  on  the  success  of  the  celebration,  and  the  inventors 
of  the  United  States  upon  their  patent  system  and  individual 
achievements.  He  further  stated  that  Canada  was  trying  to 
model  her  patent  system  after  that  of  the  United  States,  this 
remark  being  received  with  gratifying  applause. 

The  excursionists  reached  Washington  at  4  p.  M.,  and  imme- 
diately repaired  to  the  Executive  Mansion  to  witness  the  mili- 
tary parade  in  the  White  L,ot,  and  to  attend  the  reception 
tendered  them  by  the  President. 


THE  MILITARY  PARADE  AND  RECEPTION  AT  THE 
WHITE  HOUSE. 

A  special  and  impressive  feature  of  the  Centennial  Celebra- 
tion was  the  military  review  and  parade  in  honor  of  the  visitors. 
This  imposing  spectacle  occurred  in  the  White  I^ot,  south  of 
the  Executive  Mansion,  where  the  military  was  reviewed  by  the 
President,  all  the  U.  S.  troops  from  the  Arsenal  and  Fort  Myer, 
the  militia  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  the  High  School 
Cadets  being  in  line.  The  Third  Artillery  Band,  the  National 
Guard  Band  and  the  Naval  Academy  Band  and  Drum  Corps 
furnished  the  music.  After  being  reviewed  by  the  President, 
the  companies  continued  their  march  along  Pennsylvania 
Avenue  to  the  Capitol.  The  battalion  of  six  companies  of  the 
High  School  Cadets  was  one  of  the  most  interesting  parts  of 
the  parade,  their  precision  in  marching  being  especially  com- 
mended by  the  visitors. 

The  military  display  was  pronounced  by  competent  judges 
to  be  perfect  in  every  detail,  the  discipline  manifested  being 
worthy  of  special  mention. 

With  the  President  upon  the  reviewing  stand  were  a  number 
of  prominent  inventors,  army  and  navy  officers  and  government 
officials.  After  the  review  the  members  of  the  Congress  pro- 
ceeded in  a  body  to  the  White  House,  where  they  were  formally 
presented  to  the  President  by  Hon.  John  L,ynch,  Chairman  of 
the  Executive  Committee.  This  was  a  most  pleasant  feature 
in  the  programme  of  entertainment,  and  the  courtesy  was 
greatly  appreciated  by  the  visitors. 


32  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

FIFTH  PUBLIC  MEETING. 

In  opening  the  fifth  and  last  public  meeting  of  the  Congress, 
Friday,  April  loth,  at  8  P.  M.,  Hon.  John  Lynch,  the  Chairman 
of  the  Executive  Committee,  introduced  the  presiding  officer 
in  the  following  words  : 

"  I  have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  as  President  of  this 
concluding  session  of  the  Congress  a  man  of  world-wide  fame, 
whose  name  is  at  this  moment  literally  ringing  throughout  the 
civilized  world,  Professor  Alexander  Graham  Bell." 

Professor  Bell,  upon  taking  the  chair,  delivered  a  thoughtful 
and  interesting  address. 

The  first  regular  address  of  the  evening  was  delivered  by 
Hon.  William  T.  Harris,  Commissioner  of  Education,  on  "The 
Relation  of  Invention  to  the  Communication  of  Intelligence 
and  the  Diffusion  of  Knowledge  by  Newspaper  and  Book." 

This  was  followed  by  a  paper  on  ' '  The  Birth  of  Invention, ' '  by 
Prof.  Otis  T.  Mason,  Curator  of  the  Department  of  Ethnology, 
U.  S.  National  Museum,  showing  the  growth  of  inventive  ideas. 

"American  Inventions  and  Discoveries  in  Medicine,  Surgery 
and  Practical  Sanitation ' '  was  the  title  of  the  last  paper,  which 
was  read  by  Dr.  J.  S.  Billings,  Curator,  U.  S.  Army  Medical 
Museum. 

Secretary  J.  Elfreth  Watkins  then  read  a  number  of  tele- 
grams and  communications  from  the  officials  of  European 
Patent  Offices  and  several  scientific  societies.  Among  them 
were  the  following : 

OFFICE  OF  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE 
IMPERIAL  GERMAN  PATENT  OFFICE, 

BERLIN,  March  23,  1891. 

HONORED  SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  herewith  respectfully 
acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  valued  communication  of  the 
2d  instant.  It  is  with  great  interest  that  I  see  from  it  the 
worthy  manner  in  which  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  of 
America  intend  to  celebrate  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of 
the  day  on  which  the  patent  system  was  established.  Allow 
me  to  express  to  you  my  congratulations  upon  this  resolution, 
no  less,  however,  upon  the  manner  in  which  you  hope  to  carry 
it  out. 

It  is  with  great  propriety  that  you  and  those  seconding  your 
efforts  in  the  arrangement  of  the  celebration  point  to  the  im- 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  33 

portant  part  which  the  patent  system  has  had  in  the  growth, 
development  and  prosperity  of  your  home  industries.  Did 
nothing-  else  speak  for  the  high  value  of  the  patent  law,  the 
one  circumstance  would  be  of  sufficient  proof  that  the  American 
people,  as  a  whole,  are  bringing  to  the  celebration  the  heartiest 
sympathy,  and  that  you  will  have  the  honor  and  the  pleasure 
to  greet  as  participants  men  of  science  as  well  as  those  of 
practical  experience,  whose  names  are  held  in  high  honor  far 
beyond  the  boundaries  of  your  own  land. 

I  join  with  you  in  recognizing  in  the  protection  of  inven- 
tion a  practical  means  of  increasing  the  prosperity  of  the 
people,  and  praise  with  you  the  deed  which  was  performed  one 
hundred  years  ago,  and  rejoice  with  you  at  the  fruits  which 
have  obtained  to  your  citizens,  and  with  them  the  cultured 
nations  of  the  earth,  to  the  nurturing  of  inventive  genius  in 
America. 

With  these  sentiments  I  beg  you  to  consider  me,  though  not 
present,  as  with  you  on  the  8th  of  April  and  the  following  da}rs, 
and  look  upon  me  as  a  participant  in  the  celebration.  I  greatly 
regret  that  circumstances  will  prevent  my  leaving  Berlin  at 
this  time,  where  official  matters  require  my  attention,  and 
further,  the  conclusion  of  arrangements  necessary  for  a  journey 
at  this  time  would  be  impossible,  even  if  the  time  necessary  for 
them  was  shorter  than  it  is. 

I  beg  you  to  accept  these  lines  as  an  expression  of  my  most 
hearty  thanks  for  your  remembrance  of  me  and  to  excuse  my 
absence.  With  the  assurance  of  my  most  respectful  considera- 
tion, I  have  the  honor  to  remain 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

BOJANOWSKI, 
HON.  JOHN  L,YNCH,  etc.  President. 


^       FRANKFORT-ON-MAIN, 

GERMANY,  April  10,  1891. 
Secretary  of  the  Patent  Centenary  Celebration,  Washington,  D.  C.  : 

The  undersigned  beg  to  congratulate  the  United  States 
upon  the  beginning  of  the  second  century  of  the  American 
patent  system  which  has  contributed  so  much  to  the  develop- 
ment and  promotion  of  electrical  science  and  art. 

ELECTRO  TECHNICAL  SOCIETY, 

Frankfort-on-Main . 


34  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

25,  SOUTHAMPTON  BUILDINGS, 

CHANCERY  LANE, 
LONDON,  W.  C.,  igth  March,  1891. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
letter  of  the  26.  inst.,  and  in  reply  to  ask  you  to  be  good 
enough  to  convey  to  the  chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee 
my  best  thanks  for  the  courteous  invitation  to  attend  the  cele- 
bration of  the  beginning  of  the  second  century  of  the  American 
patent  system,  and  at  the  same  time  to  express  to  him  my  re- 
gret that  it  will  not  be  possible  for  me  to  be  absent  from 
England  at  the  date  fixed  for  holding  the  celebration. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir, 

Your  obedident  servant, 

H.  READER  LACK, 
J.  ELFRETH  WATKINS,  Esqre.  Comptroller-General. 


BUREAU  FEDERAL 
DE  LA  PROPRIETY  INTELLECTUELLE, 

BERNE,  le  18  May,  1891. 

To  the  Hon.  John  Lynch,  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee 
of  the  Celebration  of  the  Beginning  of  the  Second  Century  of 
the  American  Patent  System,  Washington,  U.  S. 

DEAR  SIR  :  In  expressing  to  you  our  thanks  for  the  invita- 
tion with  which  you  have  honored  us,  we  are  compelled  to  de- 
cline it  on  account  of  the  distance  from  Washington. 

With  our  best  wishes  for  the  full  success  of  the  celebration 
of  the  beginning  of  the  second  century  of  the  American  patent 
system,  we  have  the  honor  to  be,  my  dear  sir,  with  assurances 
of  high  regard, 

BUREAU  FEDIJRALDE  LA  PROPRIETE  INTELLECTUELLE 

LE  DIRECTEUR,  HALLER. 


DEN  KONGELIGE  NORSKE  REGERINGS, 
DEPARTEMENT  FOR  DET  INDRE, 
DEPARTEMENT-SCHEFEN. 
CHRISTIANIA,  den  18  April,  1891. 

SIR  :  While  having  the  honor  to  offer  my  thanks  for  the  in- 
vitation received  to  take  part  in  the  celebration  in  Washington, 
on  the  8th,  9th  and  loth  inst.,  of  the  beginning  of  the  second 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  35 

century  of  the  American  patent  system,  I  regret  very  much 
to  be  prevented  by  circumstances  from  uniting  in  this  cele- 
bration. 

I  am,  sir,  respectfully  yours, 

W.  KONOW. 
To  HON.  JOHN  LYNCH, 

Washington. 


The  Swedish  Commissioner  of  Patents  sent  the  following 
cablegram  from  Stockholm  : 

"  On  your  Centennial  the  Royal  Patent  Office  sends  cordial 
greetings,  with  best  wishes  for  continued  success." 

The  French  Commissioner  of  Patents  recognized  the  import- 
ance of  the  occasion,  and  sent  cordial  greetings. 

The  reading  of  these  communications  having  been  com- 
pleted the  following  resolution  was  offered  by  H.  T.  Simons, 
of  Ohio  : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Congress  of  Inventors  and 
Manufacturers  of  Patented  Inventions  here  assembled  be  ex- 
tended to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the  members  of 
the  Cabinet  and  the  Judges  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  for  their  honored  presence  at  our  meetings ;  to  the 
learned  and  distinguished  gentlemen  who  presided  over  and 
addressed  the  Congress  of  Inventors  at  the  several  public 
meetings  ;  to  the  Hon.  John  W.  Noble,  Secretary  of  the  In- 
terior ;  Hon.  Charles  K.  Mitchell,  Commissioner  of  Patents, 
and  the  ladies  assisting  them  in  the  brilliant  reception  tendered 
this  Congress  at  the  Patent  Office  ;  to  the  Washington  Centen- 
nial Committee  for  the  enjoyable  excursion  to  Mount  Vernon 
and  the  magnificent  military  review  ;  to  Hon.  John  Lynch  and 
Professor  J.  K.  Watkins,  for  their  arduous  labors  in  behalf  of 
the  Congress  of  Inventors  and  Centennial  Celebration  ;  to  the 
Executive  Committee,  the  several  sub-committees,  and  the 
citizens  of  Washington  for  their  kind  and  courteous  efforts  for 
our  comfort  and  entertainment,  and  finally  to  the  several  news- 
papers and  reporters  for  their  fair  and  honorable  reports  of  the 
proceedings  of  our  meetings. 

The  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  amid  applause, 
and  Professor  Bell  then  declared  the  Congress  adjourned  for 
one  hundred  years. 


36  PATENT  CENTENNIAL    BADGES. 

BADGES  WORN  BY  COMMITTEES,   MEMBERS  AND  GUESTS 
DURING  THE  PATENT  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

The  following  badges  were  worn  by  committees,  members 
and  guests  during  the  celebration  : 

BADGES. 
COMMITTEES.  Bows.  RIBBONS. 

1.  Central Purple  Gold  Gold 

2.  Advisory Gold  Purple  Purple 

3.  Executive Red  Red  Red 

4.  Literature Blue  White  White 

5.  Finance White  Red  Red 

6.  Public  Comfort Red  White  White 

7.  Reception White  White  White 

8.  Transportation Blue  Blue  Blue 

9.  Halls Red  Blue  Blue 

10.  Badges  and  Medals Blue  Red        Red 

11.  Press Gold  White   White 

12.  Music - White  Blue       Blue 

13.  Carriages Purple  White    White 

14.  Parade  and  Military  Organizations,  Purple  Purple  Purple 

15.  Banquet White  Purple  Purple 

16.  Members (Button)  Blue  Red        White 

17.  Guests "        White  Red       Blue 

1 8.  Foreign  Reception "         Gold  Gold      Gold 

19.  National  Committee "       U.S.  flag  Red       White 

20.  Auxiliary  State  Committee      ' '        Red  White    White 

A  handsome  medal  of  pure  aluminum  bearing  the  seal  of  the 
patent  office  and  the  inscription  * '  Patent  Centennial  Celebra- 
tion, Washington,  April  10,  1891,"  was  one  of  the  souvenirs 
of  the  celebration. 


NATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  INVENTORS.          37 


THE  NATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  INVENTORS  AND  MANU- 
FACTURERS. 

The  expectation  that  one  of  the  outcomes  of  the  celebration 
would  be  the  establishment  of  an  association  of  inventors  and 
manufacturers  of  patented  inventions  was  realized. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  National  Committee  from  the 
different  States,  and  representing  various  industries,  met 
according  to  call  in  Parlor  10  of  Willards  Hotel  at  10  A.  M. 
on  Wednesday,  April  8. 

Hon.  Gardiner  G.  Hubbard,  of  Washington,  was  chosen 
Chairman  and  J.  Klfreth  Watkins,  Secretary. 

A  sub-committee  was  appointed,  to  whom  was  referred  the 
question  of  the  advisability  of  establishing  an  association. 
This  committee  was  requested  to  examine  all  of  the  corre- 
spondence relating  to  the  formation  of  an  association  which  had 
been  received  by  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Patent 
Celebration,  with  directions  to  report  at  a  general  meeting  to 
be  held  at  10  A.  M.  the  following  day. 

At  the  meeting  on  Thursday  morning  this  sub-committee 
made  a  brief  report. 

The  questions  as  to  the  advisability  of  forming  an  associa- 
tion at  once,  or  of  leaving  the  matter  in  the  hands  of  a  com- 
mittee to  get  into  touch  with  inventors  and  manufacturers 
throughout  the  country  before  definite  steps  were  taken,  were 
earnestly  and  thoroughly  discussed. 

As  those  who  favored  the  former  course  were  in  the  ma- 
jority, the  committee  was  requested  to  submit  a  form  of  con- 
stitution and  by-laws  to  the  meeting  which  was  to  be  held  on 
Friday,  on  the  steamboat  en  route  for  Mount  Vernon. 

As  the  committee  to  whom  the  matter  was  referred  was 
unable  to  complete  its  deliberations  in  time,  no  meeting  was 
held  until  6  p.  M.  on  Friday,  April  10,  at  Lincoln  Hall,  when 
a  constitution  and  by-laws  were  adopted. 


38          NATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  INVENTORS. 


OFFICERS. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  American  Association 
of  Inventors  and  Manufacturers  held  after  the  adjournment  of 
the  Congress  at  Lincoln  Hall,  at  10  p.  M.  on  Friday,  April 
roth,  1891,  the  following  officers  were  elected  for  the  ensuing 
year : 

President— DR.  R.  J.  GATUNG,  of  Hartford,  Connecticut. 

First  F/rt?-/y^W^— GARDINER  G.  HUBBARD,  of  Washington,  B.C. 

Second  Vice- President— THOMAS  SHAW,  of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Third  Vice- President— PROF.  W.  A.  ANTHONY,  of  Manchester,  Conn. 

Fourth  Vice-President— BENJAMIN  BUTTERWORTH,  of  Cincinnati,  O. 

Secretary—].  ELFRETH  WATKINS,  of  Washington,  D.  C. 

Treasurer—  MARVIN  C.  STONE,  of  Washington,  D.  C. 

The  following  Board  of  Directors  * '  were  separately  voted 
for  ' '  and  unanimously  elected  to  serve  during  the  periods 
prescribed  by  the  Constitution  : 

CHAS.  F.  BRUSH,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
OTIS  T.  MASON,  Washington,  D.  C. 
R.  B.  MUNGER,  Birmingham,  Ala. 
F.  E.  SICKXES,  Kansas  City,  Mo. 
JOHN  Y.  SMITH,  Doylestown,  Pa. 
OBERLIN  SMITH,  Bridgeton,  N.  J. 
D.  M.  SMYTH,  Northwood,  N.  H. 
ROBERT  H.  THURSTON,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 
DAVID  G.  WEEMS,  Baltimore,  Md. 


BOARD    OF    TRADE   BANQUET.  39 

THE  BANQUET  OF  THE  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

The  closing  feature  of  the  Congress,  and  one  which  will  be 
remembered  with  pleasure  by  the  participants,  was  the  banquet 
given  on  Friday  evening,  April  loth,  by  the  Washington  Board 
of  Trade  at  the  Arlington  Hotel,  to  celebrate  at  one  and  the 
same  time  the  centenary  of  the  American  Patent  System  and 
that  of  the  District  of  Columbia.  The  company  numbered 
over  two  hundred  guests,  comprising  members  of  the  Cabinet 
and  other  distinguished  government  officials,  noted  men  who 
attended  the  Patent  Centennial  celebration,  besides  many 
prominent  and  representative  citizens  of  the  District.  The 
spacious  dining-hall  was  tastefully  decorated  and  the  table  was 
artistically  arranged  with  flowers.  In  the  menu,  decorations, 
and  general  appointments  the  banquet  was  a  memorable  one, 
even  in  Washington,  where  the  art  of  giving  dinners  has  grown 
to  be  a  science.  At  each  plate  was  placed  a  menu  card  artistic 
in  design,  bearing  a  representation  of  the  genius  of  invention 
and  containing  the  seal  of  the  Patent  Office  in  gold. 

MENU. 

Blue  Points 

Clear  Turtle  Soup 

Anchovies  Olives  Radishes 

Striped  Bass,  a  la  Chambord 
Cucumbers  Bermuda  Potatoes 

Chicken  Croquettes 
Green  Peas 

Filet  of  Beef,  with  Mushrooms 
Asparagus 

Lobster,  a  la  Newbourg 
Punch,  Lalla  Rookh 

Grouse,  Roasted 
L,ettuce  and  Tomato  Salad  Currant  Jelly 

Ice  Cream  Napolitaine 

Fancy  Cakes. 
Coffee  Cigars. 

Wines : 

Haut  Sauterne  Sherry  Claret 

G.  H.  Mumm's  Extra  Dry 


40  BOARD    OF   TRADE   BANQUET. 

The  banquet  will  be  long  remembered  on  account  of  the 
distinguished  men  present,  every  department  of  the  govern- 
ment being  represented,  and  for  the  character  of  the  speeches 
delivered.  The  beauties  of  the  city  of  Washington  and  the 
great  benefits  of  the  patent  system  were  exploited  in  eloquent 
words  by  those  who  responded  to  the  toasts. 

Mr.  Myron  M.  Parker,  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
presided.  By  his  side  was  Justice  Harlan  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  near  him  were  Hon.  Charles  Foster,  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  ;  Hon.  John  W.  Noble,  Secretary  of  the  Interior  ; 
Hon.  Lewis  A.  Grant,  Assistant  Secretary  of  War ;  Hon. 
J.  R.  Soley,  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy  ;  Hon.  S.  A.  Whit- 
field,  First  Assistant  Postmaster- General ;  Hon.  C.  B.  Mitchell, 
Commissioner  of  Patents;  Hon.  Benj.  Butterworth,  ex-Com- 
missioner, and  Mr.  K.  D.  Anderson,  Secretary  Board  of  Trade. 

At  the  close  of  the  dinner  President  Parker  delivered  an 
address  of  welcome,  which,  with  such  of  the  responses  to  the 
following  toasts  as  have  direct  reference  to  the  American  patent 
system,  will  be  found  in  the  subsequent  pages. 

i.  Address  of  Welcome,  Mr.  M.  M.  Parker,  President 
Board  of  Trade.  2.  The  President  of  the  United  States. 
3.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  Justice  Har- 
lan. 4.  The  Future  of  the  American  Patent  System,  Hon.  John 
W.  Noble,  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  5.  American  Patents  from 
the  Financial  Standpoint,  Hon.  Charles  Foster,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  6.  The  Relation  of  Patents  to  the  Law,  Hon.  W. 
H.  H.  Miller,  Attorney-General.  7.  The  Centenary  of  Wash- 
ington City,  T.  W.  Noyes,  Esq.,  editor  Evening  Star  8.  The 
District  of  Columbia,  Hon.  John  W.  Douglass,  President  Board 
of  District  Commissioners.  9.  American  Patents  from  an  In- 
ternational Standpoint,  Hon.  F.  O.  St.  Clair,  Department  of 
State.  10.  The  Capital  of  the  Foremost  Republic,  Hon.  J.  L. 
M.  Curry,  n.  American  Patents  in  the  Army,  General  Lewis 
A.  Grant,  Assistant  Secretary  of  War.  12.  Washington, 
the  Educational  Centre  of  America,  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Keane. 
13.  American  Patents  in  the  Navy,  Hon.  J.  R.  Soley, 
Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  14.  The  First  Century  of  the 
American  Patent  System,  Hon.  C.  E.  Mitchell,  Commissioner  of 
Patents.  15.  American  Patents  in  the  Postal  Service,  Hon.  S. 
A.  Whitfield,  First  Assistant  Post  master- General.  16.  Ameri- 


BOARD    OF    TRADE   BANQUET.  41 

can  Patents  in  Agriculture,  Hon.  Edwin  Willits,  Assistant 
Secretary  of  Agriculture.  17.  American  Patents  at  the 
World's  Exposition,  Hon.  Benjamin  Butterworth,  Secretary 
World's  Columbian  Exposition. 

THE  GUKSTS. 

The  following  is  a  partial  list  of  those  present  at  the  ban- 
quet : 

Hon.  Charles  Foster,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  ;  Hon.  John 
W.  Noble,  Secretary  of  the  Interior ;  Hon.  Lewis  A.  Grant, 
Assistant  Secretary  of  War ;  Hon.  James  R.  Soley,  Assistant 
Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  Hon.  Charles  E.  Mitchell,  Commis- 
sioner of  Patents  ;  Bishop  Keane,  Hon.  J.  L.  M.  Curry,  Arch- 
bishop Ireland,  Dr.  Gatling,  Hon.  A.  M.  Soteldo,  Prof.  Harry 
King,  M.  D.  Leggett,  Hon  Richard  Pope,  Commissioner  of 
Patents  Dominion  of  Canada  ;  Hon.  W.  J.  Lynch,  Cashier 
Commissioner,  and  Hon.  Thos.  McCabe,  Chief  Examiner  of 
the  Canadian  Patent  Office  ;  District  Commissioners  Douglass, 
Ross  and  Robert,  Ethan  Allen,  Prof.  Henry  Morton,  H.  E. 
Parsons,  Henry  W.  Smith,  W.  H.  Bagley,  C.  F.  Z.  Caracristi, 
E.  W.  Halford,  C.  C.  Chase,  Marshal  D.  M.  Ransdell,  Con- 
troller of  the  Currency  E.  S.  Lacey,  H.  B.  F.  Macfarland,  C. 
M.  Hendley,  W.  E.  Aughinbaugh,  D.  B.  Ainger,  E.  M.  Daw- 
son,  J.  G,  Beckham,  M.  B.  Harlow,  E.  E.  Downham,  Hon. 
W.  H.  Arnoux  and  Capt.  P.  H.  McLaughlin,  Prof.  Alexander 
Graham  Bell,  Dr.  J.  M.  Toner,  Dr.  John  S.  Billings,  Prof. 
Cyrus  W.  Brackett,  ex-Representative  Butterworth,  Prof.  F. 
W.  Clarke,  Maj.  C.  E.  Dutton,  Prof.  Thomas  Gray,  Col.  F.  A. 
Seely,  Hon.  Robert  S.  Taylor,  Prof.  R.  H.  Thurston,  Prof.  W. 
P.  Trowbridge,  Hon.  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Commissioner  of 
Labor,  and  Hon.  W.  T.  Harris,  Commissioner  of  Education. 

Of  the  Central  Committee:  Messrs.  J.  W.  Babson,  B.  H. 
Warner,  O.  T.  Mason,  George  C.  Maynard,  M.  C.  Stone, 
J.  E.  Watkins,  John  Lynch,  J.  T.  Dubois  and  R.  W.  Fenwick. 

Of  the  National  Committee :  John  H.  Bartlett, .  Mendes 
Cohen,  T.  N.  Ely,  G.  G.  Hubbard,  R.  J.  Howard,  W.  J.  John- 
son, J.  A.  Price,  Oberlin  Smith,  George  F.  Simonds,  D.  M. 
Smyth,  D.  J.  Weems,  Eli  Whitney  and  George  Westinghouse. 

Chairmen  of  the  local  committees  :  Schuyler  Duryee,  Hon. 
Cyrus  Bussey,  Lawrence  Gardner,  W.  C.  Mclntire,  W.  B. 


42  ENGINEERS'   BANQUET. 

Thompson,  J.  K.  McCammon,  M.  D.  Helm,  W.  R.  L,apham, 
O.  B.  Duffey  and  S.  H.  Kauffmann. 

Of  the  Advisory  Committee :  Hon  George  Gray,  H.  B. 
Paine,  Ellis  Spear,  Prof.  J.W.  Powell,  Col.  Marshall  McDonald, 
Dr.  J.  C.  Welling,  Rev.  J.  B.  Rankin,  N.  L.  Frothingham, 
Dr.  G.  Brown  Goode,  M.  V.  Montgomery  and  Thomas  Wilson. 

In  addition  to  the  above  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  mem- 
bers of  the  Board  of  Trade  participated  in  the  banquet. 

THE  ENGINEERS'  BANQUET. 

On  Thursday  evening,  April  Qth,  the  Washington  and  Balti- 
more members  of  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers 
gave  a  banquet  at  Welcker's  Hotel.  It  was  originally  intended 
as  a  compliment  to  Prof.  Octave  Chanute,  the  President  of  the 
Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  who  was  unfortunately  prevented 
by  illness  from  delivering  his  address  at  the  patent  celebration. 
The  members  of  the  Society  attending  the  banquet  were  : 

Horatio  G.  Wright,  Mendes  Cohen,  William  S.  Rosecrans, 
Henry  T.  Douglas,  Francis  H.  Hambleton,  Andrew  Rose- 
water,  John  A.  Partridge,  Channing  M.  Bolton,  Bernard  R. 
Green,  Alonzo  T.  Mosman,  Henry  L,.  Marindin,  David  B.  Mc- 
Comb,  Mordecai  T.  Bndicott,  Frederick  H.  Smith,  Herbert  M. 
Wilson,  James  L,.  L,usk,  Julien  A.  Hall,  George  B.  Hazlehurst, 
Conway  B.  Hunt,  Francis  R.  Fava,  Jr.,  Charles  B.  Ball, 
J.  Elfreth  Watkins,  Owen  L.  Ingalls  and  David  S.  Carll. 

As  invited  guests  there  were  present  Oberlin  Smith,  Past 
President  of  the  American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers, 
and  Prof.  R.  H.  Thurston,  of  Cornell  University. 

A  permanent  organization  for  the  purpose  of  occasional 
social  meetings  was  effected  by  the  election  of  Bernard  R. 
Green,  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  as  President,  and  Charles  B.  Ball 
as  Secretary,  for  one  year. 

THE  lyOAN  EXHIBITION. 

In  connection  with  the  regular  programme  of  the  Congress  a 
loan  collection  was  installed  in  the  lecture  hall  of  the  National 
Museum,  where  machines  of  antique  design,  models,  early  in- 
ventions and  patents  were  inspected  and  studied  by  many 
visitors,  drawn  to  Washington  by  their  interest  in  the  Patent 
Centennial.  A  description  of  this  collection  in  detail  will  be 
found  in  the  Appendix. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  43 


BIRTH   AND   GROWTH   OF  THE  AMERICAN 
PATENT  SYSTEM. 

BY  HON.  CHARLES  ELIOT   MITCHELL,   COMMISSIONER  OF  PATENTS. 


The  patent  system  had  its  birth  in  a  statute  against  monop- 
olies. That  statute  was  enacted  by  a  British  parliament  to 
restrain  the  British  throne.  From  the  earliest  times  the  right 
to  grant  exclusive  privileges  had  been  asserted  as  a  royal 
prerogative.  Sometimes  the  power  had  been  exercised  benefi- 
cently. With  vastly  more  frequency  it  was  employed  to  bring 
in  revenue  to  the  royal  coffers.  More  and  more,  as  the  sov- 
ereign struggled  to  govern  without  the  aid  of  parliament,  the 
power  was  abused  and  perverted  until,  in  the  days  of  Elizabeth, 
monopolies  were  conferred  upon  favorites  of  the  court,  extend- 
ing to  the  most  ordinary  articles  of  commerce  and  consumption. 
In  aid  of  these  illegal  monopolies  arbitrary  powers  of  search 
were  granted,  and  heavy  penalties  were  inflicted  upon  English 
merchants  for  engaging  in  occupations  which  had  been  of 
common  right  for  centuries.  Of  course  such  tyranny  could 
not  continue,  and  in  the  year  1623  the  famous  statute  of  James 
was  enacted,  destroying  all  illegal  monopolies  by  a  single 
stroke,  and  declaring  that  in  future  all  patents  should  be 
to  inventors  of  new  manufactures,  and  to  them  only  for  a 
limited  time.  It  is  to  this  statute  that  legal  writers  ascribe 
the  modern  patent  system. 

It  is  true  that  the  statute  of  James  was  declaratory  of  the 
common  law,  as  it  was  understood  by  the  judges  ;  it  is  true 
that  after  its  enactment  the  king's  pleasure  was  still,  in  theory, 
the  source  whence  the  grant  proceeded  ;  it  is  true  that  subse- 
quent monarchs  chafed  under  its  restrictions,  and  at  times  even 
trampled  them  under  foot ;  but,  nevertheless,  in  a  large  way 
and  in  a  very  vital  sense,  the  patent  system  had  its  birth  in  the 
remedial  statute  of  1623.  In  an  hour  of  moral  and  political 
exaltation  England  had  declared  that  odious  monopolies 


44  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

should  cease,  and  that  patents  for  inventions  should  be 
granted.  That  declaration  has  been  law  to  the  present  hour. 
And  it  should  never  be  forgotten  by  the  friends  of  industrial 
progress  that  the  same  great  statute  which  restored  the  free- 
dom of  established  industries  to  monopoly-ridden  England, 
created  also  the  modern  patent  system  and  placed  it  upon  an 
enduring  basis  in  justice  and  public  policy. 

But  although  the  patent  system  is  ascribed  to  the  statute  of 
1623,  its  administration  was  long  pervaded  by  a  spirit  hostile 
to  inventors.  The  benefactor  of  the  public  had  to  crawl  before 
the  king  as  a  suppliant  for  favor.  If  his  cringing  was  suc- 
cessful his  patent  was  granted,  but  he  was  dismissed  with  the 
poor  privilege  of  proving  the  novelty  of  his  invention  as  best 
he  could.  The  patent  was  not  even  prima  facie  evidence 
that  the  patentee  had  made  an  invention.  When  it  came  into 
court  it  was  construed  in  a  technical  spirit,  a  spirit  which 
assumed  everything  in  favor  of  the  crown  and  nothing  in 
favor  of  the  subject,  and  it  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that 
some  of  the  earlier  decisions  in  patent  causes  betray  a  temper 
that  would  have  better  befitted  a  permit  to  sell  gunpowder  in 
the  streets  of  London. 

It  is  Cory  ton,  the  law-writer,  who  tells  us  that  to  the 
patentee  alone  ' '  no  margin  was  conceded  for  possible  error. 
An  unapt  title  to  his  invention,  an  ill-judged  word  in  his 
description,  an  incautious  experiment,  the  least  disclosure  of 
his  secret  before  letters  were  sealed,  and  his  privileges  are  at 
an  end." 

In  view  of  this  judicial  hostility,  which  robbed  the  law  of  its 
beneficence  and  transformed  the  statute  into  an  ambuscade,  it 
is  no  wonder  that  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  scarcely  more 
than  one  thousand  patents  were  granted.  It  could  make  but 
little  difference  whether  patents  were  denied,  or  having  been 
granted  were  denied  protection. 

But  a  more  enlightened  sentiment  developed.  Watt  had 
harnessed  machinery  to  steam  and  Arkwright  had  harnessed 
spinning  to  machinery.  The  patent  to  Watt,  granted  in  1769, 
had  been  extended  by  an  act  of  Parliament  in  1775  and  had 
run  unscathed  the  gauntlet  of  the  judges.  Patents  were 
granted  with  increasing  frequency,  and  the  useful  arts  received 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  45 

a  mighty  impetus.  Powerful  infringers  sought  to  trample 
upon  the  rights  of  patentees,  and  law-suits  followed  that  were 
fierce  as  battlefields.  Judges  began  to  regard  inventors  not  as 
mere  recipients  of  royal  favor,  but  as  public  benefactors  worthy 
of  the  world's  great  prizes.  Then  came  those  days,  memorable 
in  judicial  annals,  when  jurists  who  were  in  touch  with  human 
progress  discussed  anew  the  relationship  of  the  inventor  to  the 
public,  and,  as  if  they  had  foregleams  of  the  new  industrial 
era,  laid  down  those  broader  and  more  generous  principles 
which  have  become  the  foundation  and  framework  of  the  patent 
law.  The  statute  of  James  followed  the  Mayflower  across 
the  ocean.  In  the  year  1641  the  General  Court  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay  granted  a  patent  to  Samuel  Winslow  for  a  method  of 
making  salt,  and  prohibited  others  ' '  from  making  this  article 
except  in  a  manner  different  from  his."  In  1646  a  patent  was 
granted  to  Joseph  Jenks  for  '  *  an  engine  for  the  more  speedy 
cutting  of  grass,"  the  invention  substituting  for  the  short  and 
clumsy  English  scythe  a  long  slender  blade  supported  by  a  rib 
along  its  back,  a  construction  easily  recognized  as  that  of  the 
modern  scythe.  The  invention  seems  also  to  have  extended  to 
machinery  for  scythe-making. 

The  name  of  Joseph  Jenks — how  inconsiderable  the  place 
which  it  occupies  in  colonial  history!  The  antiquarian  stum- 
bles upon  it  and  makes  a  memorandum  in  his  note-book,  while 
the  student  of  events  that  thrill  and  startle  passes  it  without  a 
thought  or  utterance.  Nevertheless,  a  deep  human  interest 
invests  it,  and  more  and  more  it  shall  attract  attention.  Nor 
do  we  honor  him  the  less  because  the  mowing  machine  and  the 
reaper  have  eclipsed  in  brilliancy  his  humble  achievement,  as 
there  in  the  early  wilderness  he  appeals  to  the  General  Court 
for  protection,  so  that,  as  he  quaintly  says,  "his  study  and 
cost  may  not  be  in  vayne  or  lost." 

The  colony  of  Connecticut  was  far-sighted  and  liberal  in 
encouraging  inventors.  Between  1663  and  1785  many  acts 
were  passed  granting  exclusive  privileges  in  inventions  relat- 
ing to  nearly  all  branches  of  industry  practiced  in  the  colony. 
Indeed,  Connecticut  passed  a  general  law,  which  appeared 
in  the  revision  of  1672,  declaring  that  "there  shall  be  no 
monopoly  granted  or  allowed  amongst  us  of  but  such  inven- 


46  PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

tions  as  shall  be  adjudged  profitable  to  the  country,  and  for 
such  time  as  the  General  Court  shall  deem  meet."  This 
statute,  by  implication,  held  out  inducements  to  inventors,  and 
it  is  reasonable  to  associate  with  its  enactment,  a  hundred  years 
before  the  Revolutionary  War,  the  fact  that  the  people  of  Con- 
necticut have  taken  out  more  patents  per  capita  from  year  to 
year,  down  to  the  present  time,  than  those  of  any  other  State. 

In  1785  Maryland  granted  protection  to  James  Rumsey  for 
making  and  selling  "new  invented  boats"  on  a  model  made 
by  him  ;  also,  in  1787  to  Oliver  Evans  for  making  and  selling 
"  two  machines  for  the  use  of  merchant  mills, "  and  "  one  other 
machine,  denominated  a  steam  carriage, ' '  the  right  of  recovery 
against  infringers  being  upon  condition  that  the  grantee  should 
not  ' '  be  proven  not  to  be  the  original  inventor. ' '  It  will  be 
noticed  that  this  proviso  reversed  the  burden  of  proof,  as  it 
stood  under  the  English  law,  making  the  grant  evidence  of 
novelty  unless  the  contrary  should  be  shown  as  matter  of 
defense. 

In  1787  New  York  granted  to  John  Fitch  "the  sole  right 
and  advantage  of  making  and  employing  for  a  limited  time  the 
steamboat  by  him  lately  invented."  During  the  next  year 
New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware  granted  to  the  same 
John  Fitch  the  exclusive  privilege  ' '  to  navigate  their  waters 
with  vessels  propelled  by  steam." 

I  have  thus  alluded  to  some  of  the  patents  granted  before 
the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  because  they  show 
how  deep-seated  was  the  understanding,  wherever  the  law  of 
England  had  been  inherited,  that  it  was  a  just  and  beneficent 
exercise  of  the  power  of  governments  to  protect  inventions  by 
patents  for  limited  periods.  I  have  done  so,  too,  because  the 
spectacle  of  John  Fitch  and  James  Rumsey  and  Oliver  Evans 
applying  to  the  several  States  for  the  limited  protection  which 
they  could  furnish  will  prepare  us  to  expect  that  the  constitu- 
tional convention  will  not  overlook  the  subject  in  the  midst  of 
its  important  duties.  We  shall  also  expect  to  find  that  when  a 
patent  system  common  to  all  the  States  has  been  developed  it 
will  follow  in  the  line  of  American  precedent,  and  to  a  corre- 
sponding extent  depart  from  the  English  system,  by  causing 
an  examination  before  the  patent  is  granted,  in  analogy  to  the 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  47 

legislative    methods    practiced    by    the    colonial    and    State 
assemblies. 

The  constitutional  convention  in  Philadelphia  had  been  in 
session  nearly  three  months  before  its  attention  was  directed  to 
patents  and  copyrights.  On  the  i6th  of  August,  1787,  Madison 
submitted  for  the  consideration  of  the  Committee  on  Detail  two 
propositions  for  powers  to  be  exercised  by  Congress,  one  of 
them  ' '  to  secure  to  literary  authors  their  copyrights  for  a 
limited  time  ; ' '  the  other  ' '  to  encourage  by  premiums  and  pro- 
visions the  advancement  of  useful  knowledge  and  discoveries. ' ' 
On  the  same  day  similar  provisions  were  submitted  by  Charles 
Pinckney,  one  of  them  "to  grant  patents  for  useful  inven- 
tions," another,  "to  secure  to  authors  exclusive  rights  for  a 
certain  time."  On  the  3ist  of  August  such  propositions  as  had 
not  been  acted  upon  were  referred  to  a  committee  composed 
of  one  member  from  each  State,  and  on  the  5th  of  September 
this  committee  recommended  that  Congress  have  the  power 
' '  to  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  the  useful  arts  by 
securing  for  limited  times  to  authors  and  inventors  the  ex- 
clusive rights  to  their  respective  writings  and  discoveries." 
In  the  final  revision  this  clause  became  paragraph  8  of  section 
8  of  Article  I  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

Wise  and  illustrious  men  were  they,  those  Constitution 
framers,  but  they  had  no  conception  of  the  importance'  of  what 
they  did,  when,  just  before  the  curtain  fell  upon  their  labors, 
they  decreed  that  the  exclusive  rights  of  inventors  should  be 
secured.  They  thought  they  were  applying  finishing  strokes 
and  touches  to  an  edifice  which  was  otherwise  complete,  when 
they  were  really  at  work  upon  its  broad  foundations.  For 
who  is  bold  enough  to  say  that  the  Constitution  could 
have  overspread  a  continent  if  the  growth  of  invention  and  of 
inventive  achievement  had  not  kept  pace  with  territorial  ex- 
pansion. It  is  invention  which  has  brought  the  Pacific  Ocean 
to  the  Alleghames.  It  is  invention  which,  fostered  by  a  single 
sentence *of  their  immortal  work,  has  made  it  possible  for  the 
flag  of  one  republic  to  carry  more  than  forty  symbolic  stars. 

On  the  23d  of  June,  soon  after  the  first  Congress  assembled 
in  New  York,  Benjamin  Huntington,  of  Connecticut,  reported 
a  bill  to  carry  into  effect  the  constitutional  powers  for  promot- 


48  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

ing  the  progress  of  science  and  the  useful  arts.  In  this  bill, 
for  the  first  time  in  history,  appeared  the  idea  of  a  general  law 
providing  affirmatively  for  the  granting  of  letters  patent.  For 
some  reason,  which  does  not  appear,  its  consideration  was 
postponed  until  the  next  session.  On  the  4th  day  of  January, 
1790,  Congress  having  again  assembled,  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  report  upon  unfinished  business  brought  over  from 
the  previous  session.  Before  this  committee  could  report, 
President  Washington,  clad  in  a  broadcloth  suit,  made  by  Col. 
Jeremiah  Wadsworth,  of  Hartford,  addressed  for  the  first  time 
the  assembled  Houses  of  Congress.  In  that  address  he  said  : 
' '  I  cannot  forbear  intimating  to  you  the  expediency  of  giving 
effectual  encouragement,  as  well  to  the  introduction  of  new 
and  useful  inventions  from  abroad  as  to  the  exertions  of  skill 
and  genius  at  home."  Three  days  later  the  committee  which 
had  been  appointed  made  a  report,  in  which  they  said  :  "  It 
also  appears  that  there  was  postponed  for  further  consideration 
until  this  session  a  bill  to  promote  science  and  the  useful  arts. ' ' 
This  bill  was  thereupon  referred  to  a  committee  consisting  of 
Edward  Burke,  of  South  Carolina ;  Benjamin  Huntington,  of 
Connecticut,  and  Lambert  Cadwallader,  of  New  Jersey,  who 
made  a  report  on  the  i6th  day  of  February,  1790.  The  bill 
thus  reported,  after  discussion  and  amendment,  was  duly 
passed,  and  receiving  the  signature  of  the  President,  April  10, 
became  the  celebrated  statute  of  1790.  The  enactment  of  that 
statute  this  audience,  unprecedented  in  its  character  in  all 
history,  now  joyfully  celebrates. 

The  law  of  1790  was  brief  and  simple.  The  applicant  was 
required  to  describe  his  invention,  but  no  claim  or  oath  was 
called  for.  No  discrimination  was  made  between  citizen 
and  alien.  A  drawing  was  to  be  furnished  and,  in  certain 
cases,  a  model  also.  In  two  respects  the  statute  embodied  a 
radical  departure  from  English  methods.  It  required  an  ex- 
amination, and  it  made  the  patent  prima  facie  evidence  that 
the  invention  was  truly  described  and  the  patentee  the  first 
inventor.  The  Secretary  of  State,  the  Secretary  of  War  and 
the  Attorney-General  were  to  determine  in  each  case  whether 
a  patent  should  be  granted.  From  April  to  July  they  awaited 
a  successful  applicant.  He  comes  at  last,  and  three  Cabinet 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  49 

officers — Jefferson,  Knox  and  Randolph — sitting  in  solemn 
dignity,  determine  that  Samuel  Hopkins  is  entitled  to  a  patent 
for  his  new  method  of  making  pot  and  pearl  ashes. 

Does  any  one  say  that  the  office  then  discharged  was  un- 
worthy of  such  a  tribunal  ?  Let  him  then  remember  that  that 
patent  of  July  31,  1790,  was  the  first  of  four  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  patents.  Let  him  ask  himself  what  adequate  reason 
exists  for  the  wizzard-like  transformations  of  a  century,  except- 
ing the  stimulus  afforded  by  patent  legislation.  Let  him  com- 
pare the  saddle  and  the  pillion  with  the  parlor  car,  the  tallow- 
dip  with  the  electric  light,  the  post-boy  with  the  lightning 
mail,  the  telegraph  and  the  speaking  telephone.  Let  him 
make  a  corresponding  comparison  in  every  department  of  life, 
along  every  line  of  development,  and  he  will  see  in  the  signing 
of  that  patent  to  Samuel  Hopkins  an  act  of  historic  grandeur. 

Fifty-seven  patents  in  all  were  granted  under  the  statute  of 
1790,  one  of  them  being  to  our  old  friend  John  Fitch,  whom 
we  have  met  in  the  State  assemblies.  On  October  24,  1791,  we 
find  James  Rumsey  presenting  a  petition  to  Congress  that  the 
act  of  1790  might  be  amended  and  rendered  more  effective.  A 
year  later,  November  7,  1792,  he  presented  another  petition, 
this  time  praying  for  the  revision  of  the  act. 

It  is  familiar  to  all  that  a  new  act  was  passed  on  the  2ist  of 
February,  1793  ;  but  it  is  a  fact  not  usually  known  that  Mr. 
Williamson,  of  North  Carolina,  chairman  of  the  committee 
having  the  measure  in  charge,  in  advocating  the  principles  of 
the  bill  said  that  it  was  ' '  an  imitation  of  the  patent  system 
of  Great  Britain,  and  that  its  provisions  were  such  as  would 
circumscribe  the  duties  of  the  presiding  officer  within  very 
narrow  limits."  An  oath  was  required  to  the  application,  and 
the  patent  was  still  to  be  prima  facie  evidence  ;  the  fees  were 
increased  to  thirty  dollars,  aliens  were  cut  off  from  receiving 
patents,  provision  was  made  for  determining  the  rights  of  com- 
peting applicants  by  arbitration,  the  assignability  of  inventions 
was  recognized  and  provided  for,  and  the  duty  of  granting 
patents  was  conferred  upon  the  Secretary  of  State  alone. 

It  would  give  me  pleasure  to  speak  with  some  detail  of  the 
history  of  the  patent  office  between  1793  and  1836.  But  the 
patent  system,  and  not  the  patent  office,  is  my  subject,  and  I 


50  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

must  pass  on  to  consider  the  great  act  of  1836,  remarking, 
meanwhile,  that  in  1800  the  right  of  obtaining  patents  was 
partially  restored  to  foreigners,  and  in  1819  power  was  con- 
ferred upon  the  circuit  courts  to  prevent  the  violation  of  the 
rights  of  authors  and  inventors  by  granting  injunctions  accord- 
ing to  the  principles  and  practice  of  courts  of  equity. 

The  act  of  1836  created  an  epoch.  An  eminent  statesman 
has  pronounced  it  the  most  important  event  from  the  Constitu- 
tion to  the  civil  war.  L,ess  than  10,000  patents  preceded  it ; 
more  than  450,000  have  followed  in  its  train.  Under  it  the 
Patent  Office  was  established  ;  under  it  the  first  Commissioner 
of  Patents  was  appointed,  and  hardly  had  the  approving  sig- 
nature of  Andrew  Jackson  been  affixed  before  the  walls  of 
yonder  Doric  temple,  already  completed  in  design,  began  to 
rise. 

The  most  important  change  brought  about  by  the  act  of 
1836  was  the  restoration  of  the  examination  system  and  the 
establishment  of  an  examining  corps  of  experts.  The  English 
system,  developed  on  .executive  lines,  relegated  all  investiga- 
tion to  the  courts  ;  the  American  plan,  developed  on  legislative 
lines,  made  the  investigation  precede  the  grant.  The  law  of 
1790  followed  the  American  trend  developed  in  the  colonies, 
and  Jefferson  and  his  associates  formed  an  examining  board. 
Then  came  the  act  of  1793,  which  avowedly  imitated  the 
Knglish  system,  and  permitted  a  patent  to  be  issued  to  any 
one  who  should  allege  that  he  had  made  an  invention  and 
should  make  oath  that  he  believed  himself  to  be  the  true  in- 
ventor. Its  workings  are  described  in  1837  by  Mr.  Ellsworth, 
the  first  Commissioner  under  the  new  act.  ' '  The  Patent 
Office, ' '  said  he,  ' '  only  examined  names  and  dates,  and 
granted  all  applications  presented  in  proper  form.  Of  course 
duplicates  and  triplicates  were  issued  for  the  same  invention. 
The  rights  of  parties  were  referred  to  legal  tribunals,  and  in 
the  meantime  spurious  claims  were  selling  throughout  the 
United  States." 

The  act  of  1836  restored  the  American  system.  The  Patent 
Office  was  vested  with  quasi-judicial  as  well  as  with  executive 
functions,  the  patent  being  adjudicated  upon  in  advance,  and 
possessing,  as  soon  as  it  was  granted,  the  attributes  of  a  patent 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  51 

which  under  the  old  system  had  been  tested  by  expensive  liti- 
gation. The  importance  to  inventors  of  the  system  of  prelim- 
inary examination  has  been  declared  to  be  inestimable.  It 
places  at  the  service  of  the  humblest  inventors  the  services  of 
trained  experts  in  law  and  mechanics.  It  makes  the  patent 
something  more  than  an  assertion  of  right,  something  more 
than  a  challenge  to  the  world  to  show  that  the  patentee  was 
not  the  true  inventor.  It  bears  testimony  that  it  has  been 
compared  with  prior  patents  and  publications,  domestic  and 
foreign,  and  with  all  that  has  been  done  in  the  United  States, 
so  far  as  known,  and  that  the  device  or  process  claimed  is  what 
it  professes  to  be — a  new  departure  in  the  arts.  Thus  the 
patent  acquires  an  immediate  commercial  value — a  value  which 
is  enhanced  just  in  proportion  as  means  are  supplied  by  the 
government  for  making  an  inquiry  as  complete  and  exhaustive 
as  it  is  in  human  power  to  make  it. 

Another  important  feature  of  the  act  of  1836  was  the  distinc- 
tion drawn  between  the  description  of  the  invention  and  the 
claim.  It  would  be  a  mistake,  however,  to  ascribe  the  first 
appearance  of  the  claim  to  the  act  of  1836.  Its  history  shows 
that  it  was  evolved  in  practice  before  it  emerged  in  law.  The 
first  American  patent  which  contained  anything  like  a  claim, 
so  far  as  the  restored  records  of  the  Patent  Office  indicate,  was 
that  of  Isaiah  Jennings,  November  20,  1807,  for  manufacturing 
thimbles  for  sails  of  ships.  In  the  Franklin  Journal  for  1828 
appears  an  article  prepared  by  Dr.  Jones,  then  Superintendent 
of  the  Patent  Office,  which  contains  the  suggestion  that, 
although  it  is  perfectly  proper  to  describe  an  entire  machine, 
11  after  doing  this  the  applicant  should  distinctly  set  forth  what 
he  claims  as  new,  and  this  is  best  done  in  a  paragraph  at  the 
end  of  the  specification." 

The  requirement  of  a  claim  added  greatly  to  the  value  of 
patents.  It  set  definite  walls  and  fences  about  the  rights  of  the 
patentee,  which  were  not  less  effective  because  they  were  in- 
corporeal. A  fruitful  source  of  contention  was  done  away 
with,  and  the  chances  lessened  of  being  obliged  to  resort  to  the 
courts  of  law. 

Time  will  not  allow  me  to  dwell  upon  the  other  changes 
wrought  by  the  act  of  1836,  but  I  must  introduce  its  author 


52  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

and  champion,  that  "  unaccredited  hero,"  John  Ruggles,  Sen- 
ator from  Maine.  Elected  to  the  Senate  in  1835,  he  signalized 
the  beginning  of  his  senatorial  career  by  his  conspicuous  serv- 
ice as  chairman  of  the  committee  in  charge  of  the  new  measure, 
which  he  seems  to  have  largely  originated  as  well  as  cham- 
pioned. He  received  substantial  aid  from  Henry  L,.  Ellsworth, 
afterward  the  first  Commissioner  of  Patents  ;  and,  if  tradition  is 
to  be  relied  upon,  Charles  M.  Keller,  afterward  a  renowned 
advocate  in  patent  causes,  rendered  invaluable  assistance. 

Subsequent  laws,  passed  in  1837  and  1839,  provided  that 
where  the  patentee  had  made  his  claims  too  broad,  through 
inadvertence,  accident  or  mistake,  he  might  file  a  disclaimer  of 
the  excess  of  claim,  to  become  in  effect  a  part  of  the  original 
specification,  and  also  prevented  the  forfeiture  of  the  right  to  a 
patent  by  any  use  or  sale  of  the  newly-invented  article  prior  to 
application,  unless  such  prior  use  or  sale  covered  a  period  of 
more  than  two  years.  The  latter  provision  gave  the  inventor 
an  opportunity  to  actually  use  his  invention  for  a  sufficient 
period  to  demonstrate  its  practicability  and  usefulness  before 
applying  for  a  patent.  In  1842  the  patenting  of  ornamental 
designs  was  authorized.  In  1861  the  term  of  a  patent  was 
extended  from  fourteen  years  to  seventeen,  and  the  right  to 
obtain  an  extension,  which  had  been  conferred  by  an  act  of 
1838,  was  abolished.  In  1870  the  patent  law  was  revised,  but 
the  revision  was  in  the  nature  of  a  consolidation  of  the  statutes 
then  in  force.  When  the  laws  of  the  United  States  were  gen- 
erally revised  in  1875  the  act  of  1870  was  re-enacted  without 
substantial  change. 

All  the  statutes  since  the  law  of  1836  have  been  in  substan- 
tial accord  with  the  policy  inaugurated  by  that  act,  and  have 
had  for  their  object  to  carry  that  policy  into  effect,  with  such 
modifications  as  experience  has  shown  to  be  necessary. 

In  1 790  three  patents  were  granted  ;  in  1 890  the  number  was 
twenty-six  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety-two.  In  1790 
the  receipts  were  about  $15  ;  in  1890  they  were  $1,340,372.60, 
an  excess  over  all  expenses  of  $241,094.72.  In  1790  the  work 
could  only  have  required  the  infrequent  services  of  a  single 
clerk  ;  in  1890  the  number  of  employes,  including  the  examin- 
ing, clerical  and  laboring  force,  was  five  hundred  and  ninety 
men  and  women. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  53 

In  order  to  distribute  and  dispatch  the  work  the  office  is 
divided  into  thirty  examining  divisions,  and  inventions  are 
divided  according  to  subject-matter  into  two  hundred  classes 
and  four  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety-five  sub-classes. 
All  applications  as  they  are  received  are  assigned  to  the  assist- 
ant who  has  in  charge  the  proper  sub-class  of  invention.  It 
is  only  by  careful  classification  and  division  of  labor  that  it  is 
possible  to  conduct  successfully  the  enormous  amount  of  work 
which  now,  at  the  close  of  the  century,  is  devolved  upon  the 
Patent  Office. 

The  growth  of  the  patent  system  has  been  brought  about  by 
the  friendly  laws  which  I  have  mentioned  exercising  their 
influence  for  the  most  part  in  four  different  channels  : 

1.  The  patent   system  has  stimulated   inventive  thought. 
Benjamin  Franklin,  a  man  of  science,  stood  by  the  side  of  the 
old  hand  lever  printing  press  for  a  generation,  and  left  it  where 
it  was  left  three  centuries  before  by  Guttenberg.     It  remained 
for  Hoe  and  other  inventors,  who  worked  under  the  stimulus 
of  the  patent  laws  and  patented  their  inventions,  to  produce 
that  marvelous  machine  for  disseminating  knowledge  that  has 
made  the  world  a  university.     A  century  ago  the  apprentice 
learned  the  skill  and  secrets  of  his  craft  and  jogged  along  con- 
tented with  his  acquirements.     To-day  no  workman  expects  to 
leave  his  craft  or  calling  without  lifting  it  to  a  higher  plane 
and  providing  it  with  better  instrumentalities.     A  new  power 
of  achievement  has  come  into  human  thinking.     Men  of  all 
callings  seem  to  have  acquired  the  faculty,  and  no  explanation 
of  the  change  is  plausible  which  ignores  the  stimulating  influ- 
ence of  a  century  of  patent  law. 

2.  The  patent  system  has  stimulated  men  to  transform  their 
thinking  into  things.     It  is  a  long  and  toilsome  road  from  the 
first  fugitive  suggestion,  through  failure  and  discouragement 
and  temporary  defeat,  to  an  invention  in  a  form  perfected.     If 
men  were  not  induced  by  the  rewards  of  a  patent  system  to 
cling  to  their  new  ideas  through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  an  in- 
ventor's experience  their  hands  would  drop  in  discouragement. 
The  story  of  the  lost  arts  has  never  been  told,  even  by  Wendell 
Phillips,  and  decades  and  centuries  of  possible  progress  have 
been  wrapped  up  in  inventions  which  have  dawned  upon  the 
human  consciousness  only  to  disappear  and  be  forgotten. 


54  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

3.  The  patent  system  encourages  men  to  disclose  their  in- 
ventions.    The  duty  of  men  to  disclose  their  discoveries  is  one 
which,  if  it  exists  at  all,  has  never  been  recognized.     It  is  not 
so,  however,  when  patent  laws  prevail,  and  for  a  hundred  years 
men  have  hastened  to  share  with  the  public  their  newly  ac- 
quired ideas  because  of  the  invitation  contained  in  the  patent 
system,  and  the  phenomenon  of  rediscovery  is  now  a  very  rare 
experience. 

4.  The  patent  system  enables  inventors  to  make  their  efforts 
fruitful,  and  saves  them  from  the  folly  of  misdirected  labor. 
The  Official  Gazette  of  the  Patent  Office  publishes  to  the  world 
the  claims  and  one  or  more  drawings  of  each  patent.     Each 
number  of  the  Gazette  may  be  likened  to  a  series  of  maps, 
exhibiting  that  borderland  adjacent  to  the  illimitable  unknown 
upon  which  the  sun  of  human  invention  has  shed  its  radiance, 
while  clocks  and  watches  have  registered  a  week  of  time.     In- 
ventors need  not  and  do  not,  as  formerly,  delve  in  exhausted 
mines. 

It  is  a  gratifying  feature  of  this  centennial  era  that  the 
patent  system  is  now  at  peace  with  all  the  world.  Voices  are 
heard  in  favor  of  amendatory  statutes,  opinions  differ  as  to 
methods  of  administration,  but  no  audible  utterance,  the  wide- 
world  over,  challenges  the  policy  of  patent  laws.  In  1868 
Count  Bismarck  in  Germany  and  Lord  Stanley  in  England 
declared,  the  former  that  patent  laws  should  be  abolished,  the 
latter  that  he  was  ready  to  vote  against  them.  But  the  Cen- 
tennial Exposition  at  Philadelphia,  that  second  declaration  of 
independence,  startled  the  nation  with  its  splendid  demonstra- 
tion of  the  results  of  a  liberal  policy  toward  inventors.  Sir 
William  Thompson,  in  reporting  upon  the  Centennial  Expo- 
sition, said:  "If  England  does  not  amend  its  patent  laws 
America  will  speedily  become  the  nursery  of  useful  inventions 
for  the  world."  Mr.  Hulse,  the  English  judge  of  textiles  at 
the  Exposition,  in  reporting  to  Parliament,  said  :  "The  extra- 
ordinary extent  of  ingenuity  and  invention  existing  in  the 
United  States,  and  manifested  throughout  the  Exposition,  I 
attribute  to  the  natural  aptitude  of  the  people,  fostered  and 
stimulated  by  an  admirable  patent  law  system."  Similar 
reports  were  made  by  the  representatives  of  other  nations. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  55 

The  effect  of  these  reports  was  speedily  manifest.  England, 
which  had  been  discussing  seriously  whether  or  not  the  patent 
system  should  be  abolished,  passed  a  new  act  in  1883  upon  a 
basis  more  liberal  and  popular  in  its  character.  Germany 
revised  its  law  in  1877,  and  in  a  further  and  more  radical 
revision,  to  take  effect  in  October,  1891,  European  traditions 
have  been  largely  disregarded,  and  to  a  considerable  extent 
the  American  system  has  been  imitated ;  and  Switzerland, 
long  cited  as  a  state  prospering  without  a  patent  system,  in 
1887  threw  aside  all  its  ancient  traditions  and  enacted  a  wise 
and  generous  patent  law.  It  is  true  that  in  our  country  con- 
gressional indifference  has  thwarted  every  forward  movement 
in  recent  years,  but  nowhere  in  the  popular  mind  does  there 
seem  to  be  a  spirit  hostile  to  the  inventor's  recompense.  The 
demonstrations  everywhere  of  the  usefulness  and  importance 
of  patent  laws  have  been  so  overwhelming,  and  upon  such  a 
conspicuous  scale,  that  upon  no  other  subject  relating  to  the 
internal  policy  of  nations  is  there  such  profound  repose. 

L,et  us  hope  that  the  United  States,  whose  place  in  the  van- 
guard of  progress  is  so  largely  due  to  its  great  inventors,  may 
not  now,  through  indifference  to  its  patent  system,  fall  back  in 
the  procession  of  the  nations.  I,et  us  hope  that  an  aroused 
public  sentiment,  set  in  motion  by  this  celebration  of  the 
achievements  of  a  century,  may  demand  for  the  patent  system, 
and  for  the  office  which  administers  its  functions,  just  recog- 
nition of  its  mighty  influence  and  of  its  rights  and  needs  as  it 
enters  upon  the  second  century  of  its  usefulness. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  57 


INVENTION  AND  ADVANCEMENT. 
BY  HON.  O.  H.  PI,ATT,  U,.D.,  OF  CONNECTICUT,  U.  S.  SENATOR. 


Neither  the  genius  of  Irving  nor  the  exquisite  acting  of  Jeffer- 
son was  required  to  give  the  legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow  a  lasting 
hold  upon  the  popular  heart.  It  was  not  wholly  the  miracu- 
lous flavor  in  the  story  of  the  Seven  Sleepers  of  Ephesus  that 
preserved  that  early  Christian  myth.  In  all  such  tales  the 
mutual  astonishment  of  the  awakened  sleeper  and  the  wonder- 
ing beholders  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  the  changes  which 
have  occurred  during  the  lethargic  sleep  are  suddenly  and 
sharply  forced  upon  the  attention.  But  in  all  of  them  it  is  the 
domestic,  the  political,  or  the  social  revolution  that  is  thus 
outlined. 

The  legend  in  which  the  awaking  dazed  sleeper  and  the 
bewildered  witnesses  shall  realize  and  feel  the  material,  intel- 
lectual, and  humanitarian  development  of  the  last  century  has 
yet  to  be  given  shape  and  skillful  touch.  The  marvel  is  tran- 
scendent, but  the  story  will  never  be  wrought.  Genius  cannot 
describe  nor  the  public  mind  appreciate  what  of  human  prog- 
ress has  occurred,  what  of  human  development  has  taken  place 
in  the  United  States  during  the  last  hundred  years.  I  know 
of  no  place  where  it  may  be  more  fitly  illustrated  or  more 
sharply  forced  on  the  attention  than  in  this  city  of  Washing- 
ton. Imagine,  if  you  can,  an  individual  who  witnessed  the 
laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Capitol,  now  nearly  one  hun- 
dred years  ago,  to  have  been  suddenly  withdrawn  from  the 
associations  of  men,  and  with  the  scenes  of  that  day  vivid  in 
his  mind  permitted  to  stand  again  upon  the  spot  graced  by 
the  completed  building,  but  which  to  him  had  been  a  rural 
waste.  We  would  appear  to  him  like  the  inhabitants  of  a  new 
world,  while  he  would  seem  as  strange  a  being  to  us  as  a  visitor 


5.8  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

from  some  other  planet.  The  Potomac  flowing  as  before,  the 
outline  of  the  hills,  the  dip  of  the  valley,  the  sun  and  the 
sky  above  would  be  the  only  features  of  what  to  him  was 
the  scene  of  yesterday.  The  city,  with  its  noble  avenues, 
its  architectural  structures,  and  the  residences  of  its  people, 
would  have  grown  as  if  by  magic  in  a  night.  These  things 
he  might  with  wonder  dimly  comprehend.  But  the  steam- 
boat on  the  river  would  startle  him  as  the  ships  of 
Columbus  startled  the  natives  whom  they  approached. 
The  wavy  lines  of  black  smoke  and  white  vapor  escaping 
from  chimneys  and  steam -pipes  would  be  as  incomprehensible 
and  awesome  as  the  aurora  borealis.  The  incoming  and 
outgoing  locomotives  with  their  trains ;  street  railroads  and 
vehicles  moving  thereon  apparently  without  propulsive  force  ; 
the  tick  of  the  telegraph,  transmitting  thought  from  the  ends 
of  the  earth  ;  the  voice  of  man  sounding  through  half  the 
continent  in  his  ears,  would  be  as  truly  miraculous  to  him  as 
the  raising  of  Lazarus  from  the  dead.  The  light  that  illumines 
our  nightly  darkness  to  him  would  be  as  truly  a  miracle 
as  was  to  Moses  that  bush  which  burned  with  fire  and  was  not 
consumed.  He  would  find  the  people  engaged  in  occupations 
and  pursuits  of  which  he  had  no  knowledge.  Machinery 
would  have  no  meaning  to  him ;  the  thought  of  his  fellow- 
men  and  their  language  in  large  part  would  be  incomprehen- 
sible. Doubtless  he  would  regard  us  all  as  crazy,  and  would 
probably  repeat  to  himself  the  old  familiar  nursery  rhyme,  as 
true  now  as  in  his  childhood  : 

There  was  a  mad  man, 

And  lie  had  a  mad  wife, 

And  the  children  were  mad  beside  ; 

So  on  a  mad  horse, 

They  all  of  them  got, 

And  madly  away  did  ride. 

As  the  miraculous  change  began  to  dawn  upon  his  mind, 
and  he  began  by  degrees  to  understand  that  it  was  real — that 
he  had  returned  after  an  absence  of  a  hundred  years,  and  that 
during  the  century  a  thousand  years  of  growth  and  develop- 
ment and  increase  of  human  knowledge  and  comfort  and 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  59 

happiness  had  occurred — his  first  question  of  the  bystanders 
would  be  :  "  What  has  done  all  this  ?  Is  this  enchantment  ? 
What  magician  has  transformed  nature  and  changed  man- 
kind ?  What  force,  what  power  has  been  at  work  ?  ' '  And  the 
answer,  if  truly  given,  would  be,  "The  spirit  of  invention 
has  accomplished  this ;  the  creative  faculty  in  man  hath 
wrought  these  wonders." 

How  little  we  have  realized  the  progress  of  the  century; 
how  silent  its  footsteps  have  been,  and  how  little  we  have 
stopped  to  analyze  or  appreciate  its  cause.  How  barren  of 
suggestion  are  the  standard  works  on  political  economy  and 
sociology  as  to  the  real  underlying  cause  of  the  great  trans- 
formation. Change,  improvement,  advancement  have  come 
to  be  so  large  a  part  of  our  history  that  we  should  the 
rather  wonder  if  they  ceased  to  go  forward  with  accelerated 
motion.  We  are  satisfied  with  nothing  else.  The  world  would 
be  slow  and  dull  and  intolerable  to  us  if  in  every  decade  we 
did  not  outstrip  the  performance  of  a  century.  We  seem  to 
care  as  little  about  the  cause  of  it  all  as  we  do  about  sunlight 
and  air,  and  health  and  strength.  We  enjoy  it  as  our  right. 
We  write  and  speak  of  the  incidents  of  progress,  the  new 
phases  of  our  existence,  of  visible  results,  and  magnify  them 
in  our  minds  above  the  invisible  force  which  has  produced  the 
results.  Away  out  in  the  busy  world,  if  my  thought  shall 
ever  reach  it,  men  will  receive  my  statement,  that  invention  is 
to  be  accredited  with  this  great  progress,  with  a  sceptical 
sneer.  But  you  who  are  workers  in  the  field,  who  are  planning 
and  devising  methods  by  which  still  greater  progress  is  to  be 
achieved,  will  understand  me. 

Books  without  number  have  been  written,  showing  how  man 
emerged  from  savagery  to  barbarism,  from  barbarism  to  civili- 
zation. The  whole  world  has  been  explored  for  relics  by  which 
to  measure  the  progress  of  man  on  the  long  and  toilsome  way 
from  his  prehistoric  condition  to  the  period  of  civilization. 
Audiences  gather  to  hear  it  explained,  and  go  away  satisfied 
that  the  weapon, the  tool, or  the  implement  dug  up  from  its  buried 
resting  place  unerringly  proves  how  much  progress  mankind 
had  made  at  the  time  it  was  used.  Science  divides  the  peripds 
of  human  progress  into  ages,  and  calls  them  the  stone  age,  the 


60  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

iron  age,  the  bronze  age,  but  has  failed  to  comprehend  that 
there  is  another  age,  the  age  in  which  we  are  living — the 
machine  age.  The  first  tool  that  man  invented  that  he  might 
more  easily  satisfy  his  wants  does  not  more  truly  mark  his  ad- 
vancement than  does  the  invention  of  the  marvelous  devices 
and  contrivances  by  which  his  comfort  and  happiness  are  a 
thousandfold  multiplied  in  the  present  time.  Savagery,  barba- 
rism, civilization — have  we  reached  the  end  of  human  growth 
and  development  ?  Shall  we  not  the  rather  understand  that  a 
new  name  must  be  given  to  the  condition  of  human  society 
upon  which  we  are  about  to  enter,  if  we  have  not  already 
entered  it ;  that  we  are  reaching  or  have  reached  in  our 
progress  the  age  of  spirituality.  I  do  not  use  the  word  in  its 
religious  sense,  but  as  meaning  that,  in  the  future  of  human 
achievement,  mind  is  to  triumph  over  matter,  brain  over 
muscle  ;  that  man  is  entering  that  period  in  which  he  is  to 
subjugate  all  forces  of  nature  and  make  them  his  servants. 

Time  will  not  permit  me  to  paint  the  picture  of  our  progress 
in  detail ;  a  few  striking  outlines  must  suffice.  I  must  leave 
realistic  touches  to  others.  Nor  can  I  closely  analyze  causes  ; 
I  can  merely  suggest  and  generalize. 

The  establishment  of  constitutional  liberty,  the  granting 
of  patents  for  inventions,  and  the  introduction  and  use  of 
Webster's  Spelling  Book  were  practically  coincident  with  the 
opening  of  the  century,  the  closing  of  which  we  celebrate. 
Freedom,  invention,  popular  intelligence  were  thus  inaugu- 
rated. Who  can  fail  to  appreciate  their  intimate  relation  ? 
During  the  century  and  a-half  that  preceded  the  year  1791 
we  had  only  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  permanent  lodgment  on 
the  continent.  We  occupied  only  what  has  been  called  the 
selvedge  of  a  great  country.  Our  growth  and  progress  had 
been  slow.  When  the  patent  system  was  established  we  were 
less  than  four  millions  of  people,  differing  little  in  character, 
ability,  and  pursuits  from  the  men  who  settled  at  Jamestown 
and  Plymouth.  To-day  we  are  more  than  sixty-three  millions, 
so  different  in  character  and  civilization  that  the  traces  of  the 
Cavalier  and  Puritan  are  scarcely  discernible.  Then  our 
westernmost  States  were  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  Kentucky, 
and  Georgia  ;  now  the  line  of  Commonwealths  is  unbroken 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  61 

from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  Then  the  Mississippi  River 
marked  the  western  boundary  of  our  possessions,  and  we  had 
just  passed  an  ordinance  for  the  government  of  the  unoccupied 
territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River  ;  now  we  are  asking  the 
nations  of  the  world  to  join  us  in  the  Columbian  Exposition  on 
the  shores  of  L,ake  Michigan.  Our  coal  mines,  with  a  present 
out-put  of  more  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  million  tons  per 
annum,  were  then  practically  unknown  ;  our  iron  mines,  with 
a  present  annual  production  of  fourteen  million  tons  of  ore, 
were  mainly  unworked.  The  railroad  was  undreamed  of; 
now  our  railroad  trackage  would  encompass  the  earth  six  and 
one-half  times.  The  steamboat  was  but  an  expectation  ;  now 
we  are  using  six  thousand  with  an  aggregate  carrying  capacity 
of  two  million  tons.  The  telegraph  then  lay  in  the  realm  of 
the  miraculous  ;  to-day  our  telegraphic  wires  would  reach 
from  the  earth  to  the  moon,  return  to  earth  and  again  to  the 
moon,  with  enough  spare  wire  to  girdle  the  earth  three  times. 
We  had  in  those  days  about  nineteen  hundred  miles  of  post- 
routes,  over  which  the  mail  was  carried  at  intervals  and 
deposited  in  about  seventy-five  offices ;  now  our  post-routes 
cover  more  than  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  miles, 
and  our  post-offices  number  more  than  sixty  thousand.  The 
mail  matter  carried  during  the  past  year  weighed  more  than 
one  hundred  and  eighty-two  thousand  tons,  and  the  persons 
engaged  in  carrying  it  (not  including  ' '  free-delivery  ' '  carriers) 
traveled  three  hundred  and  twenty-seven  million  miles.  Then 
we  had  a  depreciated  and  really  worthless  currency,  little  of 
private  wealth,  and  no  public  credit.  Our  sound  currency 
now  exceeds  two  billions  of  dollars  ;  our  national  credit  stands 
highest  among  the  nations  of  the  earth;  and  the  aggregate 
wealth  of  our  people  is  estimated  to  be  more  than  sixty  billions 
of  dollars.  Then  a  few  weekly,  semi-weekly  or  tri-weekly 
newspapers,  scarcely  larger  than  a  sheet  of  foolscap,  supplied 
and  satisfied  the  popular  demand  for  news.  There  were  no 
reporters  or  editors  then.  These  words  are  new,  as  are  the 
professions  they  signify.  It  was  the  " printer"  whom  the 
public  knew  in  connection  with  the  newspapers  of  those  days. 
The  entire  newspaper  publication  of  1791  is  now  surpassed  in 
the  weakest  of  our  Territories  ;  and  a  single  newspaper  of  our 


62  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

day,  The  New  York  World,  has  circulated  nearly  six  hundred 
thousand  copies  in  a  single  day,  requiring  for  their  printing 
ninety-four  tons  of  paper. 

Manufactures,  except  in  the  household,  were  practically 
unknown.  There  were  no  "mechanics"  in  the  meaning  of 
the  word  as  now  used.  Men  knew  how  to  sow  and  plow, 
hoe  and  chop,  reap  and  mow  and  cradle,  break  flax  and  hackle 
it,  thrash  with  the  flail,  winnow  with  the  blanket  or  fan,  and 
to  shell  corn  by  hand ;  the  women  knew  how  to  spin,  card, 
weave,  and  knit.  Mechanical  knowledge  was  monopolized  by 
the  blacksmith,  the  carpenter,  the  millwright,  and  the  village 
tinker.  Production  was  a  toilsome,  weary  matter,  limited  by 
the  capacity  for  muscular  endurance.  In  the  absence  of  reli- 
able statistics  we  only  know  that  in  1790  the  value  of  our 
manufactures  was  but  a  few  millions  of  dollars,  the  larger  part  of 
which  consisted  of  linen  and  woolen  cloth  made  in  households. 
The  value  of  our  manufactured  products  in  1880  was  between 
five  and  six  billions.  Statistics  for  1890  are  not  at  hand,  but 
the  sum  total  of  our  manufactured  products  within  the  census 
year  can  hardly  be  less  than  eight  billions.  But  I  must  for- 
bear; our  material  advancement  surpasses  the  wildest  dream 
of  the  most  vivid  imagination.  Neither  philosopher  nor  mad 
man  could  have  predicted  it.  It  is  incomprehensible;  the 
mind  does  not  and  cannot  grasp  it.  We  know  that  it  is  great; 
we  try  to  realize  it  as  in  our  feeble  way  we  try  to  comprehend 
the  infinite. 

If  you  would  in  a  measure  form  a  conception  of  how  large  a 
factor  invention  has  been  in  this  progress,  try  to  imagine  what 
our  social,  financial,  educational,  and  commercial  condition 
would  be  with  an  absolute  ignorance  of  how  steam  and  elec- 
tricity can  be  used  in  the  daily  production  of  things  for  our  sus- 
tenance and  comfort;  with  an  absolute  ignorance  of  the  steam- 
boat, the  railroad,  the  telegraph,  the  telephone,  the  modern 
printing  press,  and  the  machinery  in  common  daily  use.  Men 
who  acknowledge  that  the  development  of  invention  and  na- 
tional progress  have  kept  even  pace  in  all  that  makes  the 
people  great  and  happy  are  yet  slow  to  comprehend  that  in- 
vention has  contributed  in  any  large  degree  to  such  progress. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  63 

To  satisfy  the  doubts  of  such,  a  little  careful  thought  is 
needed.  We  may  well  inquire  what  it  is  that  marks  the 
superiority  of  our  people.  And  to  answer  this  we  need  to  read 
the  lesson  which  history  teaches — that  the  people  which  has 
known  most  of  the  laws  of  nature,  and  has  had  with  that 
knowledge  the  greatest  capacity  to  apply  natural  forces  in 
economic  production,  has  always  attained  the  highest  point  in 
human  development.  Human  superiority  consists  in  superior 
capacity  to  know  and  superior  ability  to  do.  If  I  understand 
how  it  is  that  invention  has  promoted  the  progress  of  our 
people,  it  is  because  it  has  enabled  them  to  know  more,  and 
has  given  them  the  power  to  do  more  than  any  other  people. 

Invention  needs  a  new  definition ;  it  has  outgrown  that 
given  in  the  dictionary;  we  must  inquire  what  it  really  is.  To 
say  that  it  is  merely  the  act  of  ' '  finding  out, ' '  the  ' '  hitting 
upon,"  the  "coming  upon"  something  new,  feebly  expresses 
the  meaning  of  the  word.  A  recent  law  writer*  more  happily 
conveys  to  our  mind  its  real  force.  He  says:  "Invention 
means  the  finding  out,  the  contriving,  the  creating  of  some- 
thing which  did  not  exist,  and  which  can  be  made  useful  and 
advantageous  in  the  pursuits  of  life,  or  which  can  add  to  the 
enjoyment  of  mankind." 

Mr.  Justice  Matthews  felicitously  expressed  the  same  idea 
when  he  said  it  was  ' '  that  intuitive  faculty  of  the  mind  put 
forth  in  the  search  for  new  results  or  new  methods,  creating 
what  had  not  before  existed,  or  bringing  to  light  what  had 
lain  hidden  from  vision." 

We  must  understand  that  to  invent  is  to  create,  and  that  the 
thing  created  must  be  beneficial  to  mankind.  We  are  wont  to 
say  that  we  live  in  an  environment  of  invention — that  every- 
thing we  touch,  taste,  handle,  or  see,  is  the  result  of  an  inven- 
tion. We  might  more  properly  say  that  we  live  in  a  new  crea- 
tion, laterally,  the  old  things  have  passed  away  and  all  things 
have  become  new.  Human  society  is  full  of  creators.  For- 
merly we  ascribed  creative  faculty  or  force  to  the  Divine  Being 
alone  ;  our  commonest  thought  of  God  was  that  He  was  the 
Infinite  Creator.  We  said  as  we  gazed  on  the  forms,  animate 

*Prof.  W.  C.  Robinson. 


64  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

and  inanimate,  which  surrounded  us  and  which  we  believed 
contributed  to  our  happiness,  "  Behold  the  expressed  thought 
of  the  Creator — God!  "  and  we  were  lost  in  wonder,  love,  and 
praise.  Now,  when  we  look  upon  the  wondrous  contrivances 
and  inventions  everywhere  contributing  to  our  life  wants  and 
adding  to  our  life  enjoyments,  we  are  forced  to  exclaim:  "  Be- 
hold the  expressed  thought  of  the  creator — man!  "  Inventions 
have  given  us  a  new  and  higher  idea  of  the  capacity  of  man. 
We  begin  to  see  how  nearly  he  is  related  to  Divinity  ;  we  have 
found  a  new  meaning  in  the  phrase,  ' '  So  God  created  man  in 
His  own  image."  Shakespeare's  words — the  highest  and 
noblest  uninspired  estimate  of  man  seem  real  to  us  at  last — 
' '  How  infinite  in  faculty  *  *  *  *  In  apprehension,  how 
like  a  god." 

L,et  me  illustrate.  Men  have  often  wondered  and  adored 
the  Infinite  Creator  as  they  have  dwelt  upon  the  words — "And 
God  said,  '  I,et  there  be  light,'  and  there  was  light."  But  the 
hours  are  not  all  light ;  there  is  the  night  and  darkness  as  well 
as  the  day  and  light.  Now,  if  you  will  think  as  you  come  to 
this  place  this  evening  how  the  thought  of  man  has  trans- 
formed black  coal  and  viewless  electricity  into  the  agents 
which  light  your  pathway,  you  will  feel  it  scarcely  irreverent 
to  exclaim  :  "And  man  said,  '  I<et  there  be  light,'  and  there 
was  light." 

If  you  will  let  your  mind  dwell  steadily  on  the  development 
during  the  century  of  the  creative  faculty  in  man,  you  will 
discover  one  prominent  reason  for  the  advancement  of  man- 
kind. You  will  see  that  the  creative  faculty  is  no  longer 
limited  to  a  few  great  souls,  but  that  it  is  possessed  by  the 
many.  You  will  see  that  the  gap  between  the  scientific  dis- 
coverer and  the  practical  workman  is  slowly  but  surely  being 
closed.  When  we  survey  the  field  of  invention  our  eyes  rest 
inevitably  on  the  figure  of  Watt.  He  stands  out  before  us  as 
the  great  leader  in  the  inventive  world.  We  give  him  highest 
place  among  those  who  have  wrought  for  mankind.  We  put 
him  above  Alexander  and  Napoleon.  They  were  destroyers  ; 
he  was  a  creator;  they  devoured;  he  developed  the  world's 
capacity  to  produce.  But  do  we  realize  that  many  greater 
than  Watt  are  here  ?  There  are  thousands  of  men  in  our 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  65 

midst  whose  praises  are  never  sung,  who  pursue  their  intense 
work  quietly  and  unnoticed,  for  whom  the  world  erects  no 
pedestal  of  fame,  but  each  of  whom  knows  more  of  the  nature 
and  power  and  adaptation  of  steam  than  Watt  ever  dreamed  of. 
We  sing  the  praises  of  Morse  ;  we  write  him  down  among  our 
greatest ;  we  give  him  a  conspicuous  niche  in  our  temple  of 
fame  ;  the  world  pays  tribute  to  his  greatness,  to  his  creative 
skill;  he  will  go  down  in  history  as  the  first  man  who  by  his 
invention  made  it  possible  to  crowd  into  a  day's  time  transac- 
tions which  would  otherwise  require  a  month's  time  for  their 
accomplishment;  who  enabled  every  man  who  can  buy  a 
penny  paper  to  behold  as  in  a  moving  panorama  the  events 
transpiring  throughout  the  whole  world.  But  many  greater 
than  Morse  are  with  us.  There  are  thousands  of  girls  in  our 
country  who  know  more  of  the  laws  of  electricity,  and  better 
how  to  apply  their  knowledge  of  these  laws  in  the  transmis- 
sion of  human  thought,  than  ever  Morse  imagined.  Such  men, 
such  inventors,  famous  by  right  in  the  world's  history,  were 
after  all  but  prospectors,  locating  the  rich  mine  of  human  in- 
vention. They  thought  out,  or  by  accident  discovered,  a 
limited  possibility  in  the  application  of  new  forces  to  the  sup- 
ply of  human  wants.  Then  the  world's  thought  became  focused 
like  a  great  burning  lense  on  that  possibility,  and  other  men 
wrought  the  possible  into  the  actual. 

Thus  it  is  with  every  invention.  Watt,  in  a  crude  way, 
was  the  first  to  use  that  force  which  we  call  steam  to  move 
engines  and  machines,  and  for  that  he  will  ever  stand  in  the 
first  rank  of  inventors.  But  will  you  tell  me  who  first  used 
that  greater  force  which  we  call  electricity,  and  which  some 
day  will  supersede  steam  as  a  motor  power  and  add  to  the 
number  of  the  marvels  of  our  civilization  ?  For  aught  I 
know  he  may  sit  before  me,  but  to  me  he  is  unknown.  In 
that  he  first  made  application  of  that  more  subtle  and  potential 
force  of  nature  in  the  working  out  of  productive  results  bene- 
ficial to  mankind,  he  is  doubtless  a  greater  inventor  than 
Watt ;  but  the  world  has  no  crown  for  him.  And  why  ? 
Possibly,  because  man  has  so  advanced  in  capacity  to  know  and 
do  that  the  achievement  of  to-day  must  outrank  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  past  in  order  to  confer  great  distinction  on  the 


66  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

doer;  possibly,  because  there  are  now  so  many  capable  ones 
seeking  the  same  result  that  the  discovery  of  the  germinal 
idea  is  no  longer  the  work  of  one  man. 

So  we  see  that  each  invention,  great  or  small,  by  its  own 
inherent  force  and  power  wonderfully  stimulates  and  increases 
the  inventive  or  creative  faculty  of  man.  Reduction  to  prac- 
tice requires  knowledge  and  skill  equal  to  that  of  the  man  who 
conceives  the  idea,  and  the  use  of  the  invention  necessitates 
knowledge  akin  to  that  of  the  inventor.  The  woman  who 
uses  the  sewing  machine  must  have  knowledge  in  kind,  at 
least,  if  not  in  degree,  equal  to  that  of  Howe.  The  field 
laborer  who  uses  the  harvester  must  know  as  much  of  the 
operation,  if  not  of  the  principle,  of  the  machine  as  McCor- 
mick.  What  an  advancement  in  average  human  knowledge 
this  signifies  in  the  country  where  we  live  and  move  and  have 
our  being  among  inventions  !  And  if,  as  Bacon  said,  knowl- 
edge is  power,  how  greatly  have  we  advanced  in  power! 

Another  thought  in  this  line.  Our  library  shelves  are  filled 
with  books,  written  to  prove  the  ennobling  influence  of  the 
fine  arts  upon  mankind.  Painting,  sculpture,  and  music  are 
lauded  because  they  educate  and  refine  society,  because  they 
improve  and  elevate  men  and  women,  and  advance  them  in  the 
scale  of  being.  But,  is  the  contemplation  of  a  painting  more 
inspiring  than  the  intelligent  study  of  an  engine  ?  Is  a  statue 
more  beautiful  than  a  machine  ?  The  one  copies  nature,  the 
other  compels  nature ;  in  the  one  there  is  repose  and  in- 
action, the  other  is  instinct  with  life  and  energy.  Are  the 
waves  of  song  more  rythmic  than  the  undulations  which  fall 
on  the  ear  from  the  movement  of  myriad  inventions  ?  The 
one  touches  sentiment,  the  other  sings  to  us  of  human  peace 
and  plenty. 

Again.  There  are  books  without  number  which  tell  us  how 
man  grows  by  the  contemplation  of  nature,  of  the  subtle 
influence  exercised  upon  the  character  of  man  by  the  scenes 
in  which  he  dwells,  by  mountain  and  forest,  by  brook  and 
river  and  ocean,  by  clear  sky  and  fleecy  clouds,  by  the  rare 
tints  of  sunset  and  dawn,  by  breaking  billow  and  roaring 
blasts.  All  this  has  been  portrayed  since  books  were  first 
written — by  poet,  philosopher,  and  moralist  alike.  But  who 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  67 

has  written,  who  shall  write,  of  that  greater  and  subtler 
molding  influence  exercised  upon  the  character  of  man  by  his 
subjection  of  the  forces  of  nature  to  become  his  ministering 
spirits  ?  Compare  the  man  who  muses  on  nature,  who  drinks 
in  the  influence  of  the  mountain  from  afar,  with  the  man  who 
pierces  that  mountain  to  make  a  highway  for  the  distribution 
of  the  world's  products,  or  digs  out  from  their  dungeon  the 
imprisoned  metals,  to  be  wrought  into  implements  for  his  use, 
and  tell  me  which  man  grows  most  or  best.  Which  is  the 
more  a  man,  he  who  gazes  with  awe  on  the  dark  storm-cloud 
and  sees  in  the  lightning  only  the  manifestation  of  the  wrath 
of  an  angry  God,  or  he  who  subdues  the  lightning  and  makes 
it  his  servant,  and  sends  it  to  and  fro  on  missions  of  mercy  and 
sympathy  to  his  fellow-man  ? 

Thus  far  I  have  spoken  of  the  indirect  influence  of  inven- 
tion on  the  progress  of  mankind,  on  human  advancement. 
Let  me  for  a  moment  be  more  specific  and  direct.  Man  is 
ever  wanting  something.  He  may  be  said  to  be  the  creature 
who  wants  ;  and  the  greater  his  attainment  the  more  numer- 
ous his  wants.  The  man  who  wants  least  in  the  world  is  of 
the  least  use  to  the  world.  Sometimes  we  call  this  craving, 
unceasing  want  of  man,  aspiration.  Our  fathers  called  it  the 
pursuit  of  happiness,  and  declared  it  an  "  inalienable  right." 
Whatever  we  may  call  it,  this  is  true  :  The  more  numerous 
and  complex  the  wants  of  man  (provided  they  are  not  born  of 
vicious  desire)  and  the  more  easily  they  are  satisfied,  the" 
better,  abler,  happier,  and  nobler  mankind  becomes.  Every 
human  want  involves  production  ;  something  must  be  pro- 
duced to  satisfy  it,  and  production  is  useless  and  objectless 
except  to  satisfy  human  wants.  Man's  first  want  is  to 
appease  hunger  and  quench  thirst;  his  next,  to  be  protected 
from  the  extremes  of  cold  and  heat.  If  these  are  all,  we  call 
him  a  savage,  and  production  stands  at  its  minimum.  With 
every  step  of  advancement  toward  civilization  and  spirituality 
his  wants  multiply,  and  production  must  increase.  His  com- 
fort and  happiness,  his  present  and  future,  depend  upon  the 
ease  with  which  he  can  obtain  wherewith  to  satisfy  and  gratify 
these  wants. 


68  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS, 

Now,  the  true  problem  of  invention — its  only  purpose  and 
object,  indeed — is,  first,  to  enable  man  to  satisfy  his  present 
wants  with  less  of  effort  and  cost  than  before  ;  and,  second,  to 
create  in  him  the  new  wants  incident  to  his  higher  plane  of 
existence,  and  the  means  of  supplying  those  wants,  so  that  as 
the  years  go  on  man  can  have  more  of  comfort  with  less  of  per- 
sonal effort  than  ever  before.  If  this  does  not  constitute 
human  advancement,  I  do  not  know  what  does. 

Is  it  true  that  invention  does  this?  It  is  the  test  by  which 
the  patentability  of  every  invention  is  tried.  It  is  the  test 
applied  by  the  inventor,  the  Patent  Office,  the  courts,  to  deter- 
mine whether  the  machine,  or  process,  or  product  is  really  an 
invention.  The  machine  or  process  must  be  "new  and  use- 
ful," (what  pregnant  words);  that  is,  it  must  produce  things 
adapted  to  the  existence  and  comfort  of  man,  cheaper  and  bet- 
ter than  they  can  be  produced  by  any  known  process.  If  the 
invention  be  of  a  new  product,  the  same  law  defines  and  limits 
it.  The  new  product  must  be  "useful;  "  it  must  be  one  that 
man  can  use,  and,  from  its  use,  be  benefited.  If  the  inventor 
does  not  believe  this  capability  resides  in  his  invention,  he 
abandons  his  effort.  If  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  cannot 
find  this  quality  in  the  supposed  invention,  he  rejects  it.  If 
courts  cannot  discover  this  essential  characteristic,  they  say  it 
is  not  entitled  to  be  called  propert}^.  That  man  must  be  blind 
and  deaf  and  dull  to  the  degree  of  stupidity  who  does  not  see 
that  in  this  country  during  the  last  century  inventions  have 
laid  their  magic  fingers  upon  every  means  and  source  of  pro- 
duction, have  improved  and  cheapened  every  product,  have 
multiplied  new  products  until  now  our  entire  population  has 
more  of  comfort  and  less  of  want,  more  of  happiness  and  less 
of  misery,  more  of  pleasure  and  less  of  pain,  than  any 
people  that  now  exists  or  has  ever  existed — and  all  these  with 
less  of  weary,  wearing  toil,  with  less  of  anxiety  and  less  of 
hardship. 

When  and  why  we  began  to  count  the  world's  life  by  cen- 
turies, as  men  count  human  life  by  years,  we  hardly  know. 
There  are  years  in  almost  every  individual  life  during  which  a 
man's  character,  habits,  and  effort  undergo  radical  change — 
some  forceful  cause  makes  him  a  new  man.  So  in  a  short 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  69 

hundred  years  the  spirit  of  invention  has  changed  the  current 
of  human  thought  and  purpose  and  enterprise  in  our  country — 
it  has  made  a  new  world.  The  America  of  to-day  is  radically 
different  from  the  America  of  1791.  We  call  our  improvement 
the  development  of  Christian  civilization  ;  and  I  would  not  for 
a  moment  forget  nor  disparage  the  great  influence  of  Christian- 
ity in  molding  our  institutions  and  directing  our  pursuits.  But 
what  kind  of  a  Christian  civilization  would  it  be  with  the 
spirit  of  invention  still  dormant  ?  Improved  printing  presses, 
telegraphs,  and  the  means  of  rapid  communication  have  given 
us  a  different  Christianity,  and  taught  us  the  lessons  of  the 
Master  more  correctly.  The  religious  polemics  of  a  former 
century  interest  men  no  longer.  Reasoning 

Of  providence,  fore-knowledge,  will  and  fate, 
Fixed  fate,  free-will,  fore-knowledge  absolute, 

is  as  obsolete  now  as  the  argument  to  prove  witchcraft  a 
reality  and  of  satanic  origin.  Men  no  longer  wander  in  the 
mazes  of  abstract  speculation ;  they  seek  for  practical  truths 
and  practical  results.  The  clergyman  who  should  preach  the 
sermon  of  a  hundred  years  ago  would  speak  to  empty  pews. 
The  present  religion  is  one  that  seeks  to  better  man's  physical 
and  social  condition.  We  care  less  for  doctrine,  and  more  for 
human  improvement ;  and  we  have  come  at  last  to  dwell  with 
intense  satisfaction  upon  the  thought  that  our  Saviour  went 
about  ' '  doing  good. ' ' 

Thus  we  see  how  the  inventive  spirit  of  the  age  has  been 
working  this  change  ;  how  the  very  essence  of  an  invention  is 
to  do  good  to  man,  to  minister  to  the  comfort,  the  happiness, 
and  the  higher  intelligence  of  the  people;  how  it  works  hand  in 
hand  with  the  spirit  of  a  true  religion.  For  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  the  world  we  seem  to  be  making  real  headway  against 
superstition  and  bigotry.  We  no  longer  count  the  mysterious 
as  miraculous.  What  seemed  miraculous  has  in  our  day  too 
often  come  to  be  commonplace  to  let  us  sit  down  in  wonder 
before  it.  For  the  first  time  we  have  come  to  learn  that  true 
rivalry  in  manly  achievement  is  the  struggle  to  accomplish 
most  for  the  benefit  of  mankind,  and  that  the  only  real  hap- 
piness consists  in  enabling  others  to  become  happy. 


70  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

Nor  is  the  change  in  the  method  and  system  of  our  educa- 
tion less  radical  than  that  in  religious  thought  and  effort.  The 
college  president  of  a  hundred  years  ago  would  bring  financial 
ruin  to  any  college  in  a  twelve-month.  We  more  and  more 
demand  that  our  children  shall  study  the  present,  and  that 
their  expansive  powers  shall  not  be  imprisoned  in  the  dun- 
geons of  a  dead  past.  Roman  and  Grecian  manners,  customs, 
literature  and  art  are  no  longer  the  only  models  upon  which 
we  seek  to  develop  the  character  of  our  sons.  They  must  be 
fitted  to  explore  the  storehouse  of  nature  and  to  bring  out 
therefrom  unseen  treasures  for  a  true  enrichment  of  their 
fellows.  Nothing  more  strikingly  illustrates  this  change  than 
the  public  demand  for  scientific,  industrial,  and  manual  training 
schools.  Consider  for  a  moment  how  impossible  such  schools 
would  have  been  when  our  Constitution  was  framed,  and  how 
their  felt  necessity  is  now  changing  all  our  educational  methods. 
No  education  is  complete  to-day  that  does  not  fit  the  student  to 
deal  with  the  great  problems  of  applied  science,  the  solution  of 
which  is  still  more  to  enrich  and  bless  mankind.  Education  is 
not  finished  now  in  the  college  or  professional  school;  it  goes 
on  in  the  workshop,  in  the  laboratory,  by  the  lathe,  in  the  field, 
in  the  mine,  in  the  forest,  wherever  and  so  long  as  man  is  called 
upon  to  wrestle  with  these  great  problems.  And  how  intense 
life  has  become  in  consequence  !  Slow  and  toilsome  processes 
of  thought  are  now  no  longer  possible  by  the  side  of  the 
swiftly-moving  machine  ;  thought  has  been  wedded  to  intui- 
tion. Evidence  is  not  wanting  that  invention  and  discovery 
have  resulted  in  lengthening  the  average  of  human  life.  But 
whether  this  be  so  or  not,  if  we  count  life  by  its  action  and 
experience  and  what  we  gain  in  it  and  by  it,  our  term  of  life 
has  been  wonderfully  lengthened. 

The  change  in  human  enterprise  may  be  illustrated  by  con- 
trasting what  were  once  the  Seven  Wonders  of  the  world  with 
the  seven  wonders  of  American  invention.  The  old  wonders 
of  the  world  were  :  The  Pyramids,  the  Hanging  Gardens  of 
Babylon,  the  Phidian  Statue  of  Jupiter,  the  Mausoleum,  the 
Temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus,  the  Colossus  of  Rhodes,  and  the 
Pharos  of  Alexandria.  Two  were  tombs  of  kings,  one  was  the 
playground  of  a  petted  queen ;  one  was  the  habitat  of  the 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  71 

world's  darkest  superstition  ;  one  the  shrine  of  a  heathen  god  ; 
another  was  a  crude  attempt  to  produce  a  work  of  art  solely  to 
excite  wonder,  and  one  only,  the  light-house  at  Alexandria, 
was  of  the  slightest  benefit  to  mankind.  They  were  erected 
mainly  by  tyrants ;  most  of  them  by  the  unrequited  toil  of 
degraded  and  enslaved  laborers.  In  them  was  neither  im- 
provement nor  advancement  for  the  people. 

Let  me  enumerate  the  seven  wonders  of  American  inven- 
tion :  The  cotton-gin ;  the  adaptation  of  steam  to  methods  of 
transportation  ;  the  application  of  electricity  in  business  pur- 
suits ;  the  harvester ;  the  modern  printing  press  ;  the  ocean 
cable,  and  the  sewing  machine.  How  wonderful  in  concep- 
tion, in  construction,  in  purpose,  these  great  inventions  ;  how 
they  dwarf  the  Pyramids  and  all  the  wonders  of  antiquity  ; 
what  a  train  of  blessings  each  brought  with  its  entrance  into 
social  life ;  how  wide,  direct,  and  far-reaching  their  benefits! 
Each  was  the  herald  of  a  social  revoluion  ;  each  was  a  human 
benefactor  ;  each  was  a  new  Goddess  of  Liberty  ;  each  was  a 
great  emancipator  of  man  from  the  bondage  of  labor  ;  each 
was  a  new  teacher  come  upon  earth  ;  each  was  a  moral  force. 

I  should  not  do  justice  to  this  subject  if  I  omitted  to  speak 
of  one  thing,  which,  however,  it  will  hardly  be  thought 
necessary  in  this  gathering  to  urge  as  a  defence  of  the  patent 
system.  Our  patent  system  needs  no  defence.  When  our 
fathers  asserted  constitutional  authority  for  Congress  to  pro- 
mote the  useful  arts,  by  granting  to  inventors  for  a  limited 
time  the  exclusive  control  of  their  inventions,  they  builded 
better  than  they  knew.  But  it  may  be  said  that  without  the 
stimulus  afforded  by  the  prospective  reward  of  the  inventor 
this  development  of  invention  would  never  have  occurred — 
that  the  inventor  is  spurred  and  lured  on  by  the  expectation 
of  a  fortune.  I  do  not  deny  that  every  inventor  expects  and 
hopes  for  pecuniary  gain  to  be  derived  from  his  invention,  and 
that  if  there  were  no  gain  the  spirit  of  invention  might  be 
checked.  It  is  right  that  the  man  who  benefits  mankind 
should  be  rewarded.  Our  instinct  of  justice  revolts  at  the 
short-sighted  policy  which  has  ever  sought  to  stifle  inventions, 
and  we  rejoice  at  the  liberal  policj'  founded  upon  the  good 
judgment  of  mankind  which  has  sought  to  encourage  them. 


72  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

The  world  has  nothing  but  contempt  for  the  Emperor  Tibe- 
rius who,  when  approached  by  a  skillful  workman  who  had 
discovered  the  secret  of  making  glass  malleable,  inquired  of  him 
whether  he  alone  possessed  the  secret,  and  upon  being  assured 
that  he  was  the  only  one,  ordered  his  head  to  be  struck  off 
immediately,  lest  his  invention  should  prove  injurious  to  the 
workers  in  gold,  silver,  and  other  metals.  I  deny,  however, 
that  the  hope  of  pecuniary  gain  is  the  only  motive  of  inven- 
tion, or  indeed  the  most  powerful  motive.  Two  others,  at 
least,  are  more  potent :  The  insatiable  desire  of  man  to  see  the 
invisible,  to  touch  the  intangible,  to  know  the  unknown,  to 
conquer  the  unconquered,  is  one  ;  to  benefit  the  human  race  is 
the  other.  The  prospect  of  money  reward  alone  would  never 
absorb  and  concentrate  and  intensify  the  faculties  of  the 
inventor.  He  is  an  enthusiast.  L,ike  prophet  and  poet,  he 
seems  possessed  by  a  semi-madness.  A  passion  to  accomplish 
and  achieve  what  seems  impossible  takes  hold  of  him.  He  is 
a  philanthropist,  too ;  the  desire  to  furnish  his  fellow-men 
with  something  new  and  useful  absorbs  him.  There  are  men 
sitting  before  me,  no  doubt,  whose  waking  and  sleeping  hours 
are  given  to  the  exploration  of  new  fields,  that  they  may 
discover,  control,  and  apply  new  forces  ;  who  are  striving  to 
bring  forth  inventions  more  wonderful  and  beneficial  than  the 
world  has  yet  known.  Ask  them,  and  see  if  they  do  not  tell 
you  that  I  am  right,  and  if  they  do  not  scout  the  idea  that  the 
pecuniary  profit  which  they  may  derive  from  their  invention 
is  the  only,  or  indeed  the  principal,  motive  that  impels  them. 
If  they  can  but  discover  the  germs  of  new  inventions  which 
are  to  cheapen  production,  which  are  to  minister  to  the  present 
and  prospective  wants  of  mankind,  they  will  be  satisfied  with 
their  life-work  and  feel  that  they  are  entitled  to  a  place  among 
the  world's  great  doers,  though  others  shall  enter  in  and  reap 
more  abundantly  the  money  reward.  There  never  yet  was  a 
true  invention  from  which  the  public  did  not  reap  infinitely 
greater  pecuniary  reward  than  the  inventor.  However  selfish 
his  purpose  may  be,  it  is  an  inevitable  law  of  invention  that  it 
holds  greater  benefits  in  store  for  the  masses  than  for  the 
inventor. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE    CONGRESS.  73 

I  must  not  fail  to  notice  at  this  point  a  more  or  less  preva- 
lent idea  that  the  result  of  invention  is  to  enrich  the  few  at  the 
expense  of  the  many — that  capital  is  assisted  while  labor  is 
injured.  I  have  little  patience  with  this  belief.  It  is  the  wail 
of  the  pessimist  rather  than  the  opinion  of  the  intelligent. 
Men  who  give  utterance  to  it  forget  that  in  social  economy 
man  always  builds  on  the  ruins  of  the  past.  The  first  effect  of 
every  useful  invention  is  to  destroy  capital.  In  the  inventive 
realm  the  fittest  only  survives.  No  invention  answers  its  pur- 
pose that  does  not  either  supersede  the  old  methods  of  produc- 
tion or  bring  forth  a  new  product.  If  some  new  motive  power 
should  be  discovered  which  would  enable  us  to  produce  those 
things  which  men  must  have  for  their  sustenance  and  happiness 
better  and  more  cheaply  than  water  power,  air  power,  steam 
power,  and  electrical  power,  the  capital  thus  invested  would  be 
gradually  but  surely  destroyed  ;  whereas  all  experience  teaches 
us  that  there  would  be  no  injury  to  labor — there  would  simply 
be  a  readjustment  of  labor  and  an  increased  demand  for  it. 
There  would  be  a  demand  for  more  intelligent  labor,  more 
skillful  labor,  more  brain  labor,  as  well  as  a  greater  demand 
in  new  fields  for  what  we  term  muscular  labor. 

An  illustration  or  two  conclusively  proves  Jhis.  In  the 
beginning  of  the  century  there  were  no  railroads  ;  all  trans- 
portation was  by  wagons,  carts,  horses,  and  oxen.  The  rail- 
roads of  the  country  last  year,  in  railroad  parlance,  moved 
sixty-eight  billion  tons  of  freight  one  mile.  To  have  accom- 
plished the  same  work  would  have  required  more  horses  than 
there  are  in  the  United  States,  and  two-thirds  of  the  able- 
bodied  men  of  the  country  to  drive  them.  But  all  the  horses 
in  the  country  were  needed  for  other  work — work  which, 
except  for  the  railroads,  would  not  have  been  done.  With 
the  introduction  of  the  railroad  the  men  who  had  driven 
horses  found  that  their  services  were  in  demand  at  prices 
which  teamsters  never  expected  to  receive.  There  would  be 
no  such  carrying  trade  as  we  now  have  if  it  had  not  been 
developed  by  the  railroads.  People  who  think  that  invention 
lessens  the  demand  for  labor  should  remember  that  millions 
of  people  find  profitable  employment  in  localities  where 
Indians  would  now  be  hunting  the  buffalo  were  it  not 


74  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

for  the  inventions  which  go  to  make  up  that  vast  system 
of  railroads,  which  is  itself  one  great  conglomerate  ma- 
chine acting  with  the  precision  of  mechanical  law.  They 
should  remember,  too,  that  to  operate  the  railroads  of 
this  country  nearly  a  million  persons  are  employed  to  fill 
places  that  have  been  created  by  the  railroad,  in  which 
intelligence  and  skill  of  a  high  order  are  required.  They 
should  take  account,  too,  of  the  men  who  have  worked  in 
mines  and  forests,  who  have  built  furnaces  and  mills,  who 
have  produced  the  rails  for  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand 
miles  of  railroad  track,  and  the  necessary  equipment  of  loco- 
motives and  cars  ;  of  the  men  who  have  leveled  and  graded  the 
roads — who  have  pierced  the  mountains  and  filled  up  the 
valleys  ;  of  the  men  who  have  found  employment  in  supplying 
all  these  laborers  and  artisans  with  food  and  comforts  and 
luxuries.  That  man  is  sadly  deficient  in  the  intelligence  of 
the  age  who  cannot  see  that  every  true  invention  greatly 
increases  the  demand  for  labor,  improves  the  quality  of  labor, 
and  thereby  enhances  its  price. 

About  thirty-five  years  ago  men  discovered  a  natural  pro- 
duct unknown  before  ;  they  called  it  petroleum.  Invention 
seized  upon  it  and  began  to  work  it  into  useful  forms  for  the 
production  of  useful  results  and  to  supply  unquestioned  needs. 
It  was  a  timely  discovery.  Without  it,  we  can  hardly  conceive 
how  it  would  be  possible  to  light  the  homes  of  our  people. 
In  every  stage  of  its  treatment  invention  has  been  called  into 
use.  By  the  aid  of  those  inventions  the  crude  article  has  been 
resolved  into  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  separate 
products,  each  one  of  which  has  its  commercial  designation, 
its  beneficial  use — many  of  them  supplying  wants  unfelt  and 
unknown  before.  All  this  has  created  an  army,  of  workmen 
engaged  in  employments  unheard  and  unthought  of  but  for 
the  discovery,  and  for  the  inventions  which  have  so  multifari- 
ously utilized  the  product.  What  labor  has  been  displaced  or 
injured  thereby  ?  So  with  every  invention  since  the  creation 
of  man.  Not  one  of  them  but  has  made  life  more  to  be 
desired  by  the  toiler  ;  not  one  but  has  made  his  station  more 
honorable,  his  environment  more  agreeable.  I  count  it  one  of 
the  chief  benefits  of  our  unrivaled  inventions  that  labor  in 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  75 

the  United  States  has  become  more  intelligent,  more  skillful, 
and  therefore  commands  the  highest  price.  I  count  the 
advancement  of  our  laborers  as  the  chief  wealth  of  our 
people.  A  people  may  have  gold  and  not  be  rich,  may  have 
lands  and  be  indigent ;  but  a  people  with  intelligence  and  skill 
and  energy  is  truly  rich  and  truly  great.  It  is  brain  power 
that  constitutes  real  wealth.  The  old  poet  of  the  sixteenth 
century  who  sang,  "My  mind  to  me  a  kingdom  is,"  had  a 
better  conception  of  the  true  nature  of  wealth  than  the  man 
who  counts  only  the  millionaire  as  the  wealthy  man. 

One  other  thought  I  commend  to  the  pessimist.  If,  as  he 
believes,  invention  has  augmented  and  concentrated  capital 
and  clothed  it  with  power  which  is  used  to  the  public  detri- 
ment, it  has  also  made  possible  the  organization  and  associa- 
tion of  labor.  Without  the  railroad,  the  telegraph,  and  the 
press,  associated  labor  could  not  exist ;  without  these  children 
of  invention,  no  labor  combination  or  organization  would  ex- 
tend beyond  the  city  or  town  in  which  it  was  organized.  By 
adding  to  the  intelligence  of  the  masses,  by  the  opportunity 
which  it  gives  for  association,  invention  has  wonderfully 
increased  the  power  of  the  masses.  The  laborer  is  no  longer 
an  isolated  toiler.  Invention  has  clothed  him  with  strength  as 
a  garment.  God  grant  that  he  may  use  it  wisely. 

We  stand  in  the  doorway  of  a  new  century.  What  of  the 
future  ?  Has  invention  reached  its  zenith  ;  has  man  attained  his 
highest  development ;  has  he  already  reached  the  goal  of 
human  progress ;  can  he  advance  no  farther  ?  I  ask  these 
questions  because  I  firmly  believe  that  the  limit  of  human 
invention  is  also  the  limit  of  human  advancement;  that  he 
who  writes  the  history  of  invention  will  write  the  history  of 
mankind;  that  if  invention  has  already  done  its  perfect  work, 
man  is  all  he  can  ever  hope  to  be  in  this  life. 

For  one,  I  cannot  entertain  the  gloomy  thought  that  we  have 
come  to  that  century  in  the  world's  life  in  which  new  and 
grander  achievements  are  impossible.  For  one,  I  am  persuaded 
that  we  have  but  just  entered  the  era  of  improvement ;  that  at 
no  period  in  his  existence  has  man  been  so  well  equipped,  so 
well  fitted  by  his  ability,  knowledge,  and  high  resolve,  to 
grapple  with  the  problems  of  life  and  to  make  new  conquests 


76  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS, 

in  the  field  of  invention.  Invention  is  a  prolific  mother  ;  every 
inventive  triumph  stimulates  new  effort.  Man  never  is  and 
never  will  be  content  with  success,  and  the  great  secrets  of 
nature  are  as  yet  largely  undiscovered.  Though  we  seem  to 
have  accomplished  much,  we  really  know  but  little.  Who 
knows  what  electricity  is  ?  Who  understands  the  properties 
of  any  material  substance  ?  Who  has  solved  the  mysteries  of 
the  atom  and  the  germ  ?  Who  knows  what  forces  men  have 
passed  by  in  their  search  for  motive  power  ?  Who  has  even 
catalogued  the  forces  of  nature  ?  What  wondrous  possibilities 
are  yet  locked  in  her  storehouse  ?  But,  after  all,  the  real  wonder 
of  the  earth  is  man ;  never  so  wonderful  as  when  he  boldly 
challenges  nature  to  unlock  her  doors  and  reveal  her  mys- 
teries that  he  may  use  them  for  the  improvement  and  advance- 
ment of  his  kind. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  77 


THE   RELATION   OF   INVENTION  TO   LABOR. 

BY  HON.  CARROU,  D.  WRIGHT,  OF  MASSACHUSETTS, 
COMMISSIONER  OF  LABOR. 


The  lines  of  industrial  history  are  dimly  drawn.  The 
writers  of  civil  history  have  been  too  thoroughly  engrossed 
with  political  events  and  with  wars  to  give  much  attention  to 
the  development  of  the  industries  of  different  peoples.  Here 
and  there  a  paragraph  or  a  page  may  give  some  hint  of  the 
state  of  the  industrial  arts  during  different  periods  and  in 
different  countries  ;  but  the  necessity  of  giving  connected  and 
extended  accounts  of  industrial  progress  has  not  yet  seemed  to 
possess  them.  The  beginning  of  the  history  is,  of  course,  as 
nebulous  as  the  beginning  of  all  history.  It  runs  back  into 
the  ages,  beyond  tradition,  even,  for  we  cannot  conceive  of 
the  first  step  in  civilization  having  been  taken  without  the 
assistance  of  the  industrial  arts.  When  the  Greek  could  find 
no  trace  of  his  own  origin,  it  is  unreasonable  to  suppose  that 
the  historian  can  give  the  origin  of  those  arts  which  have  been 
potent  in  developing  civilization.  The  history  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  mechanic  arts  must  be  largely  the  history  of 
civilization ;  at  least  each  reflects  the  history  of  the  other, 
for  it  is  true  that  as  advancing  civilization  has  begotten  higher 
and  finer  types  of  production,  the  higher  type  of  artisan  has 
been  the  productive  element  in  social  progress.  It  is  im- 
possible, with  this  condition  of  things  historically,  to  treat  of 
the  relation  of  invention  to  labor,  or,  more  broadly,  of  the  influ- 
ence which  invention  has  had  upon  labor  during  the  earlier 
historical  stages. 

The  civil  historian  finds  it  convenient  to  make  three  great 
divisions  of  history  —  ancient,  medieval,  and  modern.  The 
historian  of  the  industrial  arts  can  make  use  of  but  the  first 
and  the  last  of  these  periods,  the  two  great  divisions,  ancient 
and  modern — the  ancient  extending  almost  to  our  own  time,  the 


78  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

modern  finding  its  birth  in  that  wonderful  period  of  invention 
practically  beginning  with  the  year  1760.  We  are,  then,  actu- 
ally living  in  the  early  generations  of  the  modern  history  of 
manufactures,  for  the  whole  ancient  period  saw  but  little 
change  and  but  little  invention,  beyond  the  few  contrivances 
by  which  people  met  their  simple  wants.  Certainly  invention 
had  not  been  prolific  in  processes  of  production.  The  period 
of  ancient  history,  as  defined,  has  not  even  ceased  for  a  great 
proportion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  world. 

The  grand  divisions  which  the  archaeologist  finds  essential 
are  far  more  applicable  to  manufactures  than  those  of  the  civil 
historian.  He  takes  three  great  ages — the  stone  age,  the 
bronze  age,  and  the  iron  age — and  these  divisions  more  accu- 
rately mark  the  progress  of  manufactures,  for  in  them  we  find 
the  peculiar  changes  which  mark  the  growth  of  the  inventive 
genius  of  the  world.  The  limits  of  these  ages,  however,  are 
not  found  to  be  contemporaneous,  so  far  as  beginning  and  end- 
ing are  concerned,  for  while  the  stone  age  may  have  ended 
in  one  country  and  the  bronze  age  been  evolved  from  it,  the 
stone  age  may  have  lingered  for  centuries  longer  in  another 
country,  or  the  bronze  age  may  have  continued  far  beyond  the 
birth  of  the  iron  age  among  an  adjacent  people,  or  it  may  have 
been  omitted  because  of  the  conquest  of  a  people  still  living  in 
the  stone  age  by  a  people  who  had  reached  the  iron  age. 
These  great  distinctions  of  ages,  which  the  archaeologist  finds 
so  convenient,  are  not  continuous  steps  in  the  development  of 
natural  history,  except  in  a  philosophical  sense.  Logically 
they  are  true  divisions,  and  so  far  as  nearly  all  the  peoples  of 
the  world  are  concerned  they  are  true  divisions  chronologically. 
The  history  of  civilization  is  not  that  of  successive  steps,  ex- 
cept as  we  view  great  cycles  of  time  ;  so  the  various  industrial 
systems  which  have  prevailed  in  the  world — the  slave  system, 
the  feudal  system,  and  the  wage  system — are  not  successive 
universally,  but  only  successive  in  individual  nations.  Bven 
in  the  case  of  special  nations,  one  or  the  other  of  these  systems 
may  have  been  omitted  through  the  circumstances  growing 
out  of  conquest,  or,  it  may  be,  treaty,  though  in  the  growth  or 
evolution  of  industrial  events  the  steps  are  quite  regular.  The 
natural  division  of  industrial  history  really  involves  two  great 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  79 

features — hand-production  and  machine-production.  Hand- 
production  prevailed  until  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, and,  as  already  remarked,  inventive  genius  had  not  been 
applied  in  this  direction,  except  in  the  simplest  way.  During 
the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  history  of  machine- 
production,  or  of  the  age  of  mechanical  invention,  really 
began ;  it  is  with  this  age  that  I  have  to  deal,  for  it  is  only 
since  invention  has  been  applied  to  productive  processes  that 
it  has  had  any  specific  influence  upon  the  labor  of  man,  either 
in  an  economic  or  an  ethical  sense. 

The  age  of  invention  found  its  birth  in  the  development  of 
spinning  and  weaving,  and  as  these  two  arts  lay  at  the  very 
foundation  of  the  industrial  arts  of  the  ancients,  so  they  are 
the  basic  arts  of  the  modern  system  of  industry.  Until  the 
decade  of  years  beginning  with  1760,  the  machines  in  use  for 
weaving,  as  well  as  for  spinning,  were  nearly  as  simple  as 
those  in  use  among  the  ancients.  The  principles  adopted  by 
the  ancients,  of  course,  are  those  still  in  force.  The  processes 
of  spinning  and  weaving  were  generally  performed  under  the 
same  roof,  the  weaver  continually  pressing  upon  the  spinner 
for  a  supply  of  weft  or  warp ;  but  the  weaver's  own  family 
could  not  respond  with  a  sufficient  quantity,  and  he  had  much 
difficulty  in  collecting  it  from  neighboring  spinsters.  The 
first  influence  of  invention,  paradoxical  as  it  may  seem,  aggra- 
vated this  difficulty  by  a  device  for  facilitating  the  progress  of 
weaving.  This  occurred  by  the  use  of  the  fly-shuttle,  invented 
in  1738,  by  one  John  Kay,  by  which  device  one  man  alone 
was  enabled  to  weave  the  widest  cloth,  while  prior  to  Kay's 
invention  two  persons  were  required.  One  can  readily  see  how 
this  increased  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  a  supply  of  yarn ;  for 
the  one-thread  wheel,  though  turning  from  morning  till  night 
in  thousands  of  cottages,  could  not  keep  pace  either  with  the 
weaver's  shuttle  or  with  the  demand  of  the  merchant.  In  the 
same  year,  1738,  John  Wyatt  invented  an  elementary  me- 
chanical contrivance  whereby  he  expected  that  a  single  pair  of 
hands  could  spin  twenty,  a  hundred,  or,  on  a  perfected  me- 
chanical construction,  even  one  thousand  threads.  This  inven- 
vention  of  Wyatt's,  patented  by  royal  letters-patent  in  1738,  in 
the  name  of  Lewis  Paul,  really  embodied  the  method  of  spin- 


8o  PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

ning  by  rollers,  for  Wyatt 's  specification  describes  the  very 
principle  of  spinning  by  rollers  which  distinguished  the  spin- 
ning machine  brought  into  use  thirty  years  later  by  Sir 
Richard  Arkwright,  and  which  was  universally  adopted,  and 
of  which  Sir  Richard  is  generally  supposed,  even  at  the  present 
day,  to  have  been  the  inventor.  Wyatt  did  not  succeed,  either 
in  making  his  fortune,  or  in  introducing  his  machine  into  use. 
He  lacked  the  pecuniary  means,  and  could  not  hold  out  long 
enough  to  realize  the  success  his  genius  merited ;  but,  more 
than  all,  as  often  happens  with  many  advanced  inventions — 
inventions  made  in  advance  of  the  times — he  lacked  the  time 
and  attendant  circumstances,  with  all  their  subtle  influences, 
which  accompanied  the  train  of  inventions  relating  to  spinning 
and  weaving  which  came  into  use  a  generation  or  so  after 
Wyatt's  time.  His  invention  slumbered  for  thirty  years,  until 
it  was  rediscovered,  or,  what  is  just  as  probable,  until  its  prin- 
ciples came  accidentally  to  the  knowledge  of  Arkwright,  who, 
previous  to  1769,  had  been  a  barber  at  Preston.  These  primi- 
tive efforts — that  of  John  Kay,  in  the  invention  of  the  fly- 
shuttle,  and  that  of  John  Wyatt,  in  the  invention  of  spinning 
machines  where  rollers  were  used — formed  the  germs  from 
which  sprang  that  great  line  of  inventions  which  has  revolu- 
tionized industry,  and  whose  influence  upon  labor  has  been  so 
widely  marked  in  every  direction. 

The  invention  of  the  spinning  jenny  came  just  in  time  to 
have  its  usefulness  adopted.  One  day  while  a  spinner  of  Kng- 
land  was  at  work  with  his  single  wheel,  in  what  poetry  has 
called  a  ' '  cottage, ' '  but  what  history  denominates  a  ' '  hut, ' '  sur- 
rounded by  his  children,  they  accidentally  overturned  the  wheel, 
and  while  it  lay  on  the  earthen  floor  in  a  horizontal  position, 
the  wheel,  which  was  revolving  at  the  time  it  was  overturned, 
continued  to  revolve,  and  of  course  the  spindle  revolved  through 
the  power  conveyed  to  it.  This  little  accident  suggested  to  the 
intelligence  of  James  Hargreaves  the  idea  that  a  spindle  could 
be  run  in  a  position  perpendicular  to  the  motive-power,  as  well 
as  horizontal,  and  that  the  same  power  might  be  carried  to 
two  or  more  spindles.  He  therefore  set  himself  to  work  and 
constructed,  between  1764  and  1767,  a  crude  machine,  subse- 
quently called  a  spinning  jenny,  which  had  several  spindles 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  81 

driven  by  cords  or  belts  from  the  same  wheel.  He  was  thus  en- 
abled to  multiply  his  production  of  yarn.  This  result  brought 
him  increased  wages,  and  made  him  the  envy  of  his  neighbors, 
who,  fearing  that  the  machine  would  ultimately  aifect  them 
injuriously,  became  excited,  broke  into  Hargreave's  house,  and 
destroyed  not  only  the  machine  but  nearly  all  of  his  furniture. 
The  inventor  was  so  severely  persecuted  that  he  left  his  native 
county  and  went  to  Nottingham,  at  which  place  he  was  fur- 
nished with  means  and  was  enabled  to  perfect  his  invention, 
taking  out  n^al  letters-patent  in  1770.  But  the  year  previous, 
1769,  Richard  Arkwright,  of  whom  I  have  spoken,  took  out  a 
patent  for  his  invention  of  spinning  by  rollers.  These  two 
men,  therefore,  can  be  called  contemporaneous  inventors,  and, 
so  far  as  practical  results  are  concerned,  the  original  inventors 
who  gave  to  the  world  the  birth  of  the  age  of  invention. 

The  mule-spinning  machine,  which  Samuel  Crompton  in- 
vented in  1776,  was  a  combination  of  the  principles  of  the 
jenny  and  the  water-frame  of  Arkwright,  and  entirely  super- 
ceded  the  use  of  the  jenny ;  but  the  machines  of  Hargreaves 
and  Arkwright  broke  down  the  barrier  which  had  so  long 
obstructed  the  advance  of  the  cotton  manufacture,  and  the 
breaking  down  of  this  barrier  inaugurated  the  factory  system, 
which  really  dates  from  their  period.  /^ 

In  1785  Dr.  Edward  Cartwright  invented  the  first  power- 
loom.  This  was  improved  upon  by  various  inventors  till  1806, 
when  power-looms  began  to  be  used  in  factories.  Prior  to 
this  invention  all  the  yarn  spun  by  power-machines  had  been 
woven  into  cotton  by  hand-loom  weavers,  and  of  course  the 
introduction  of  the  power-loom  caused  a  repetition  of  the  scenes 
of  riot  which  followed  the  introduction  of  the  spinning  machine. 
The  power-loom  closed  the  catalogue  of  inventions  necessary  to 
the  inauguration  of  the  era  of  mechanical  supremacy. 

To  give  in  detail  an  account  of  the  invention  of  the  great 
processes  in  all  departments  which  have  affected  civilization  or 
which  have  constituted,  oil  marked,  practical  epochs  in  indus- 
trial evolution,  is  not  my  province.  Others  who  speak  to  you 
will  give  you  this  information.  But  the  influence  upon  the 
labor  of  man,  of  the  age  which  was  born  when  the  spinning 
and  weaving  machinery  of  Kngland  was  perfected,  constitutes 


82  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

a  theme  to  which  I  am  called  upon  to  address  myself.  This 
influence  has  been  great,  and  has  been  felt  along  two  principal 
lines  or  directions,  those  of  economics  and  of  ethics.  Eco- 
nomically speaking,  the  influence  has  been  felt  in  two  directions 
also,  but  in  diametrically  opposite  ways.  These  ways  are  what 
are  called,  in  popular  speech,  "  the  displacement  of  labor  "  and 
"the  expansion  of  labor."  By  the  displacement  of  labor  is 
meant  what  would  be  expressed  more  specifically  by  another 
term,  the  contraction  of  labor ;  that  is,  where  a  machine  has 
been  invented  by  which  one  man  can  do  the  work,  with  the 
aid  of  the  machine,  of  several  men  working  without  its  aid ; 
and  by  the  expansion  of  labor  is  meant  where,  through  inven- 
tion, more  men  are  called  into  remunerative  employment 
than  would  have  been  employed  had  not  such  invention  been 
made.  In  considering  these  economic  bearings  or  influences  of 
inventions,  we  must  deal  with  labor  abstractly,  while  under 
the  ethical  influence  we  not  only  deal  with  labor  abstractly, 
but  with  man  as  a  social  and  a  political  factor.  This,  of  course, 
leads  at  once  to  the  remark  that  the  ethical  influence,  or  the 
ethics  of  the  question,  becomes  the  most  prominent  feature  of 
any  treatment  of  the  relation  of  invention  to  labor.  Before 
touching  this,  however,  I  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  some 
of  the  more  marked  economic  disturbances  which  have  taken 
place. 

THE  DISPLACEMENT  OR  CONTRACTION  OF  LABOR. 

The  facts  relative  to  the  so-called  displacement  of  muscular 
labor  by  machinery  have  been  drawn  from  the  First  Annual 
Report  of  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Labor. 

That  labor-saving  machinery,  so-called,  but  which  more 
properly  should  be  called  labor-making  or  labor-assisting 
machinery,  often  displaces  labor  so  far  as  men,  individually, 
are  concerned,  and  temporarily,  cannot  successfully  be  denied. 
All  men  of  sound  minds  admit  the  permanent  good  effects  of 
inventions  ;  but  the  permanent  good  effects  do  not  prevent  the 
temporary  displacement,  which  displacement,  so  far  as  the 
labor  displaced  is  concerned,  assists  in  crippling  the  consuming 
power  of  the  community  in  which  it  takes  place.  It  is,  of 
course,  exceedingly  difficult  to  secure  positive  information 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  83 

illustrating  a  point  so  thoroughly  apparent ;  yet  from  the 
source  I  have  named  a  sufficient  amount  of  information  can  be 
drawn  to  show  clearly  and  positively  the  influence  of  inven- 
tions in  bringing  about  what  is  called  displacement. 

In  the  manufacture  of  agricultural  implements  new  machin- 
ery, during  the  past  fifteen  or  twenty  years,  has,  in  the 
opinion  of  some  of  the  best  manufacturers  of  such  implements, 
displaced  fully  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  muscular  labor  formerly 
employed,  as,  for  instance,  hammers  and  dies  have  done  away 
with  the  most  particular  labor  on  a  plow.  In  one  of  the  most 
extensive  establishments  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
agricultural  implements  in  one  of  the  Western  States  it  is 
found  that  600  men,  with  the  use  of  machinery,  are  now  doing 
the  work  that  would  require  2,145  men,  without  the  aid  of 
machinery,  to  perform ;  that  is  to  say,  there  has  been  in  this 
particular  establishment  a  loss  of  labor  to  1,545  men,  the 
proportion  of  loss  being  as  3.57  to  i.  In  the  manufacture  of 
small  arms,  where  one  man,  by  manual  labor,  was  formerly 
able  to  ' '  turn  ' '  and  ' '  fit  "  one  stock  for  a  musket  in  one  day 
of  ten  hours,  three  men  now,  by  a  division  of  labor  and  the 
use  of  power  machinery,  will  turn  out  and  fit  from  125  to  150 
stocks  in  ten  hours.  By  this  statement  it  is  seen  that  one  man 
individually  turns  out  and  fits  the  equivalent  of  42  to  50 
stocks  in  10  hours,  as  against  one  stock  in  the  same  length  of 
time  under  former  conditions.  In  this  particular  calling, 
then,  there  is  a  displacement  of  44  to  49  men  in  one  operation. 

Looking  to  a  cruder  industry,  that  of  brick-making, 
improved  devices  have  displaced  10  per  cent,  of  labor,  while 
in  making  fire-brick  40  per  cent,  of  the  labor  formerly  em- 
ployed is  now  dispensed  with,  and  yet  in  many  brick-making 
concerns  no  displacement  whatever  has  taken  place. 

The  manufacture  of  boots  and  shoes  offers  some  very 
wonderful  facts  in  this  connection.  In  one  large  and  long- 
established  manufactory  in  one  of  the  Eastern  States  the 
proprietors  testify  that  it  would  require  500  persons,  working 
by  hand  processes  and  in  the  old  way  in  the  shops  by  the 
roadside,  to  make  as  many  women's  boots  and  shoes  as  100 
persons  now  make  with  the  aid  of  machinery  and  by  congre- 
gated labor,  a  contraction  of  80  per  cent,  in  this  particular 


84  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

case.  In  another  division  of  the  same  industry  the  number  of 
men  required  to  produce  a  given  quantity  of  boots  and  shoes 
has  been  reduced  one-half,  while,  in  still  another  locality,  and 
on  another  quality  of  boots,  being  entirely  for  women's  wear, 
where  formerly  a  first-class  workman  could  turn  out  six  pairs  in 
one  week,  he  will  now  turn  out  eighteen  pairs.  A  well-known 
firm  in  the  West  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  boots  and  shoes 
finds  that  it  would  take  120  persons,  working  by  hand,  to 
produce  the  amount  of  work  done  in  its  factory  by  60 
employes,  and  that  the  hand-work  would  not  compare  in 
workmanship  and  appearance  by  50  per  cent.  By  the  use  of 
Goodyears'  sewing  machine  for  turned  shoes  one  man  will  sew 
250  pairs  in  one  day.  It  would  require  eight  men,  working  by 
hand,  to  sew  the  same  number  in  the  same  time.  By  the  use 
of  a  heel-shaver  or  trimmer  one  man  will  trim  300  pairs  of 
shoes  a  day,  while  formerly  three  men  would  have  been  required 
to  do  the  same  work  ;  and  with  the  McKay  machine  one 
operator  will  handle  300  pairs  of  shoes  in  one  day,  while 
without  the  machine  he  could  handle  but  five  pairs  in  the  same 
time.  So,  in  nailing  on  heels,  one  man,  with  the  aid  of 
machinery,  can  heel  300  pairs  of  shoes  per  day,  while  five  men 
would  have  to  work  all  day  to  accomplish  this  by  hand.  A 
large  Philadelphia  house,  which  makes  boys  and  children's 
shoes  entirely,  has  learned  that  the  introduction  of  new 
machinery  within  the  past  thirty  years  has  displaced  about 
six  times  the  amount  of  hand-labor  formerly  required,  and 
that  the  cost  of  the  product  has  been  reduced  one-half. 

The  broom  industry,  which  would  not  seem  to  offer  a  large 
field  for  speculation  in  reference  to  displacement,  has  felt  the 
influence  of  invention,  for  the  broom  sewing  machine  facilitates 
the  work  to  such  an  extent  that  each  machine  displaces  three 
men.  A  large  broom-manufacturing  concern  which  a  few 
years  ago  employed  seventeen  skilled  men  to  manufacture 
500  dozen  brooms  per  week,  now,  with  nine  men,  aided 
by  invention,  turns  out  1,200  dozen  brooms  weekly  ;  so  in  this 
case,  while  the  force  is  reduced  nearly  one-half,  the  quantity 
of  product  is  more  than  doubled. 

To  look  at  a  carriage  or  a  wagon,  one  would  not  suppose 
that  in  its  manufacture  machinery  could  perform  very  much  of 


PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE    CONGRESS.  85 

an  office,  and  yet  a  foreman  of  fifty  years'  experience  has  in- 
formed me  that  the  length  of  time  it  took  a  given  number  of 
skilled  workmen,  working  entirely  by  hand,  to  produce  a 
carriage  of  a  certain  style  and  quality  was  equal  to  thirty-five 
days  of  one  man's  labor,  while  now  one  man  produces  sub- 
stantially the  same  style  of  carriage  in  twelve  days.  Machin- 
ery has  been  employed  in  making  the  parts  necessary  to  the 
construction  of  a  carriage  or  a  wagon,  and  thus  has  simplified 
the  work  and  reduced  the  time  essential  for  the  production  of 
the  completed  product. 

In  the  manufacture  of  carpets  there  has  been  a  displacement, 
taking  all  the  processes  together,  of  from  ten  to  twenty  times 
the  number  of  persons  now  necessary.  In  the  spinning  of 
carpet  material  alone  it  would  take,  by  the  old  methods,  from 
seventy-five  to  one  hundred  times  the  number  of  operatives 
now  employed  to  turn  out  the  same  amount  of  work,  while  in 
weaving  there  would  be  required  at  least  ten  times  the  present 
number.  A  carpet-measuring  machine  has  been  invented 
which  brushes  and  measures  the  product  at  the  same  time, 
and  by  its  use  one  operator  will  accomplish  what  formerly 
required  fifteen  men. 

Very  many  people  would  say  that  in  the  manufacture  of 
clothing  there  has  been  no  improvement,  except  so  far  as  the 
use  of  the  sewing  machine  has  facilitated  the  manufacture  ; 
yet  in  the  ready-made  clothing  trade,  where  cutting  was  for- 
merly done  by  hand,  much  of  it  is  now  done  by  the  use  of  dies, 
many  thicknesses  of  the  same  size  and  style  being  cut  at  one 
operation.  So  in  cutting  out  hats  and  caps  with  improved 
cutters,  one  man  is  enabled  to  cut  out  a  great  many  thicknesses 
at  the  same  time,  and  he  does  six  times  the  amount  of  work 
with  such  devices  as  could  formerly  be  done  by  one  man  in  the 
old  way. 

While  the  age  of  machinery  began  with  improvements  for 
the  manufacture  of  textiles,  so  the  manufacture  of  textiles,  and 
especially  cotton  goods,  offers  perhaps  as  striking  an  illustra- 
tion as  any  of  the  apparent  displacement  of  labor.  With  a 
hand-loom  a  weaver  used  to  weave  from  sixty  to  eighty  picks 
per  minute  in  weaving  a  cloth  of  good  quality,  with  twenty 
threads  of  twist  to  each  one-quarter  square  inch.  With  a 


86  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

power  loom  he  now  weaves  one  hundred  and  eighty  picks  per 
minute  of  the  same  kind  of  cloth.  Even  in  power  machinery, 
a  weaver  formerly  tended  but  one  loom.  Now  one  weaver 
minds  all  the  way  from  two  to  ten  looms,  according  to  the 
grade  of  goods.  In  a  large  establishment  in  New  Hampshire, 
improved  machinery,  even  within  ten  years,  has  reduced  mus- 
cular labor  50  per  cent,  in  the  production  of  the  same  quality 
of  goods.  This,  of  course,  is  true  in  other  localities  given  to 
the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods.  In  another  line  labor  has 
been  displaced  to  such  an  extent  that  one-third  the  number  of 
operatives  formerly  required  is  now  in  employment.  In  the 
days  of  the  single-spindle  hand-wheel,  one  spinner,  working 
fifty-six  hours  continuously,  could  spin  five  hanks  of  number 
thirty-two  twist.  At  the  present  time,  with  one  pair  of  self- 
acting  mule-spinning  machines,  having  2,124  spindles,  one 
spinner,  with  the  assistance  of  two  small  boys,  can  produce 
55,098  hanks  of  number  thirty-two  twist  in  the  same  time.  It 
is  quite  generally  agreed  that  there  has  been  a  displacement, 
taking  all  processes  of  cotton  manufacture  into  consideration, 
in  the  proportion  of  three  to  one.  The  average  number  of 
spindles  per  operative  in  the  cotton  mills  of  this  country  in 
1831  was  25.2  ;  it  is  now  over  72,  an  increase  of  more  than  185 
per  cent. ;  and  along  with  this  increase  of  the  number  of  spin- 
dles per  operative  there  has  been  an  increase  of  product  per 
operative  of  over  145  per  cent.,  so  far  as  spinning  alone  is  con- 
cerned. In  weaving  in  the  olden  time,  in  this  country,  a  fair 
adult  hand-loom  weaver  wove  from  forty- two  to  forty-eight 
yards  of  common  shirting  per  week.  Now  a  weaver,  tending 
six  power-looms  in  a  cotton  factory,  will  produce  1,500  yards 
in  a  single  week. 

Marvelous  as  these  facts  appear,  when  we  examine  the 
influence  of  invention  as  applied  in  the  newspaper  publishing 
business  we  perceive  the  magic  of  inventive  genius.  One  of 
the  latest  quadruple-stereotype  perfecting  presses  manufactured 
by  R.  Hoe  &  Co.,  of  New  York,  has  an  aggregate  running 
capacity  of  48,000  eight-page  papers  per  hour  ;  that  is  to  say, 
one  of  these  perfected  presses,  run  by  one  pressman  and  four 
skilled  laborers,  will  print,  cut  at  the  top,  fold,  paste  and 
count  (with  supplement  inserted  if  desired)  48,000  eight-page 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  87 

papers  in  one  hour.  To  do  the  press-work  alone  for  this 
number  of  papers  would  take,  on  the  old  plan,  a  man  and  a 
boy  working  ten  hours  per  day  one  hundred  days.  A  paper 
now  published  in  the  morning,  printed,  folded,  cut  and  pasted 
before  breakfast,  would,  before  the  edition  was  completed  under 
the  old  system,  become  a  quarterly. 

And  so  illustrations  might  be  accumulated  in  very  many 
directions — in  the  manufacture  of  furniture,  in  the  glass 
industry,  in  leather-making,  in  sawing  lumber,  in  the  manu- 
facture of  machines  and  machinery,  in  the  production  of  metals 
and  metallic  goods  of  all  kinds,  or  of  woodenware,  in  the 
manufacture  of  musical  instruments,  in  mining,  in  the  oil 
industry,  in  the  manufacture  of  paper,  in  pottery,  in  the 
production  of  railroad  supplies,  in  the  manufacture  of  rubber 
boots,  of  saws,  of  silk  goods,  of  soap,  of  tobacco,  of  trunks, 
in  building  vessels,  in  making  wine,  and  in  the  production  of 
woolen  goods. 

It  is  impossible  to  arrive  at  an  accurate  statement  as  to  the 
number  of  persons  it  would  require  under  the  old  system  to 
produce  the  goods  made  by  the  present  industrial  system  with 
the  aid  of  invention  and  power-machinery.  Any  computation 
would  be  a  rough  estimate.  In  some  branches  of  work  such 
a  rough  estimate  would  indicate  that  each  employe  at  the 
present  represents,  on  an  average,  fifty  employes  under  the  old 
system.  In  many  other  branches  the  estimate  would  involve 
the  employment  of  one  now  where  three  were  employed. 
Looking  at  this  question  without  any  desire  to  be  mathematic- 
ally accurate,  it  is  fair  to  say,  perhaps,  that  it  would  require 
from  50,000,000  to  100,000,000  persons  in  this  country,  work- 
ing under  the  old  system,  to  produce  the  goods  made  and  do  the 
work  performed  by  the  workers  of  to-day  with  the  aid  of 
machinery.  This  computation  may,  of  course,  be  very  wide 
of  the  truth,  but  any  computation  is  equally  startling,  and 
when  it  is  considered  that  in  spinning  alone  1,100  threads  are 
easily  spun  now  at  one  time  where  one  was  spun  under  the 
old  system,  no  estimate  can  be  successfully  disputed. 

All  these  facts  and  illustrations  simply  show  that  there  has 
been,  economically  speaking,  a  great  displacement  of  labor  by 
the  use  of  inventions ;  power  machinery  has  come  in  as  a 


88  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

magical  assistant  to  the  power  of  muscle  and  mind,  and  it  is 
this  side  of  the  question  that  usually  causes  alarm.  As  in  the 
early  day,  when  Hargreaves  and  Arkwright  were  struggling 
to  supply  the  weaver  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  yarn,  and 
the  spinners  looked  only  to  the  immediate  effect  upon  them- 
selves, so  now,  no  good  answer  can  be  made  to  the  man  who 
finds  his  labor  a  superfluity  in  a  market  overstocked  with 
labor.  Enlightenment  has  taught  the  wage-receiver  some  of 
the  advantages  of  the  introduction  of  inventions  as  his 
assistants,  but  he  is  not  yet  fully  instructed  as  to  their  influ- 
ence in  all  directions.  He  does  see  the  displacement ;  he  does 
see  the  difficulty  of  turning  his  hand  to  other  employment  or 
of  finding  employment  in  the  same  direction.  These  are 
tangible  influences  which  present  themselves  squarely  in  the 
face  of  the  man  involved,  and  to  him  no  philosophical,  eco- 
nomic or  ethical  answer  is  sufficient.  It  is  therefore  impossible 
to  treat  of  the  influence  of  inventions,  so  far  as  the  displace- 
ment of  labor  is  concerned,  as  one  of  the  leading  influences, 
on  the  individual  basis.  We  must  take  labor,  as  I  have  said, 
abstractly.  So,  having  shown  the  powerful  influence  of  the 
use  of  ingenious  devices  in  the  displacement  or  contraction  of 
labor,  as  such,  it  is  proper  to  show  how  such  devices  have 
influenced  the  expansion  of  labor  or  created  employments  and 
opportunities  for  employment  which  did  not  exist  before  their 
inception  and  application. 

THE  EXPANSION  OF  L,ABOR. 

As  incredible  as  the  facts  I  have  given  might  appear  to  one 
who  has  not  studied  them,  the  ability  to  crystalize  in  individual 
cases  and  show  the  fairly  exact  displacement  of  labor  exists. 
An  examination  of  the  opposite  influence  of  inventions,  that 
of  the  expansion  or  creation  of  employments  not  before  exist- 
ing, reveals  a  more  encouraging  state  or  condition  of  things, 
but  one  in  which  the  statistician  can  make  but  very  little  head- 
way. The  influences  under  the  expansion  of  labor  have  vari- 
ous ramifications.  The  people  at  large,  and  especially  those 
who  work  for  wages,  have  experienced  these  influences  in 
several  directions,  and  contemporaneous  with  the  introduction 
and  use  of  inventions,  the  chief  economic  influence  being  in 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS.  89 

the  direction  of  expansion,  the  other  influences  being  more 
thoroughly  ethical,  and  these  should  be  considered  under  that 
broad  title.  The  science  of  statistics  helps  us  in  some  respects 
in  studying  the  expansive  power  of  inventions,  and  especially 
in  the  direction  of  great  staples  used  as  raw  material  in  manu- 
facturing processes  and  in  the  increase  of  the  number  of  people 
employed  relative  to  the  number  of  the  population.  If  there 
has  been  a  great  increase  in  the  consumption  per  capita  of 
great  staples  for  manufacturing  purposes,  there  must  have  been 
a  corresponding  expansion  of  labor  necessary  for  the  produc- 
tion of  goods  in  like  directions.  Taking  up  some  of  the  lead- 
ing staples,  the  facts  show  that  the  per  capita  consumption  of 
cotton  in  this  country  in  1830  was  5.9  pounds ;  in  1880,  13.91 
pounds,  while  in  1890  the  per  capita  consumption  had  increased 
to  nearly  19  pounds.  These  figures  are  for  cotton  consumed 
in  our  own  country,  and  clearly  and  positively  indicate  that 
the  labor  necessary  for  such  consumption  has  been  kept  up  to 
the  standard,  if  not  beyond  the  standard,  of  the  olden  time — I 
mean  as  to  the  number  of  people  employed.  In  iron  the  in- 
crease has  been  as  great  proportionately.  In  1870  the  per 
capita  consumption  of  iron  in  the  United  States  was  105.64 
pounds,  in  1880  it  had  arisen  to  204.99  pounds,  and  in  1890  to 
283.38.  While  processes  in  manufacturing  iron  have  been  im- 
proved, and  labor  displaced  to  a  certain  extent  by  such  pro- 
cesses, this  great  increase  in  the  consumption  of  iron  is  a  most 
encouraging  fact,  and  proves  that  there  has  been  an  offset 
to  the  displacement.  The  consumption  of  steel  shows  like 
results.  In  1880  it  was  46  pounds  per  capita,  and  in  1890, 
144  pounds.  The  application  of  iron  and  steel  in  all  direc- 
tions, in  the  building  trades,  as  well  as  in  the  mechanic  arts, 
in  great  engineering  undertakings,  and  in  a  multitude  of 
directions,  only  indicates  that  labor  must  be  actively  em- 
ployed, or  such  extensions  could  not  take  place.  But  a  more 
conclusive  offset  to  the  displacement  of  labor,  considered 
abstractly,  is  shown  by  the  statistics  of  persons  engaged  in  all 
occupations.  From  1860  to  1880,  a  period  of  twenty  years, 
and  the  most  prolific  period  in  this  country  of  inventions,  and 
therefore  of  the  most  intensified  influence  in  all  directions  of 
their  introduction,  the  population  increased  59.51  per  cent., 


90  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

while  during  the  same  period  the  number  of  persons  employed 
in  all  occupations — manufacturing,  agriculture,  domestic  serv- 
ice, everything — increased  109.87  per  cent.  In  the  decade  of 
years,  1870  to  1880,  the  population  increased  30.08  per  cent., 
while  the  number  of  persons  in  all  occupations  increased  39 
per  cent.  An  analysis  of  these  statements  shows  that  the  in- 
crease of  the  number  of  those  engaged  in  manufacturing, 
mechanical,  and  mining  industries,  those  in  which  the  influ- 
ence of  inventions  is  most  keenly  felt,  for  the  period  from 
1860  to  1880,  was  92.28  per  cent.,  as  against  59.51  per  cent, 
increase  in  the  total  population.  If  statistics  could  be  as 
forcibly  applied  to  show  the  new  occupations  brought  into 
existence  by  inventions,  I  believe  the  result  would  be  still 
more  emphatic.  If  we  could  examine  scientifically  the  num- 
ber of  created  occupations,  the  claim  that  inventions  have 
displaced  labor  on  the  whole  would  be  conclusively  and 
emphatically  refuted.  Taking  some  of  the  great  industries 
that  now  exist,  and  which  did  not  exist  prior  to  the  inventions 
which  made  them,  we  must  acknowledge  the  power  of  the 
answer.  In  telegraphy  thousands  and  thousands  of  people 
are  employed  where  no  one  has  ever  been  displaced.  The 
construction  of  the  lines,  the  manufacture  of  the  instruments, 
the  operation  of  the  lines — all  these  divisions  and  sub-divisions 
of  a  great  industry  have  brought  thousands  of  intelligent  men 
and  women  into  remunerative  employment  where  no  one  had 
ever  been  employed  before.  The  telephone  has  only  added  to 
this  accumulation  and  expansion,  and  the  whole  field  of 
electricity,  in  providing  for  the  employment  of  many  thousands 
of  skilled  workers,  has  not  trenched  upon  the  privileges  of 
the  past.  Electro-plating,  a  modern  device,  has  not  only 
added  wonderfully  to  the  employed  list  by  its  direct  influence, 
but  indirectly  by  the  introduction  of  a  class  of  goods  which 
can  be  secured  by  all  persons.  Silverware  is  no  longer  the 
luxury  of  the  rich.  Through  the  invention  of  electro-plating, 
excellent  ware,  with  most  artistic  design,  can  be  found  in 
almost  every  habitation  in  America.  The  application  of 
electro-plating  to  nickel  furnished  a  subsidiary  industry  to 
that  of  electro-plating  generally,  and  nickel-plating  had  not 
been  known  half  a  dozen  years  before  more  than  thirty 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  91 

thousand  people  were  employed  in  the  industry,  where  no 
one  had  ever  been  employed  prior  to  the  invention. 

The  railroads  offer  another  grand  illustration  of  the  expan- 
sion of  labor.  It  now  requires  three-quarters  of  a  million  of 
people  to  operate  our  railroads,  and  this  means  a  population  of 
nearly  four  millions,  or  one-sixteenth  of  the  whole  population 
of  the  country.  The  displacement  of  the  stage-coach  and  the 
stage-driver  was  nothing  compared  to  the  expansion  of  labor 
which  the  railroad  systems  of  the  country  have  created.  The 
construction  of  the  road-bed  and  its  equipment  constantly 
involve  the  employment  of  thousands  and  thousands  of 
mechanics,  while  the  operation  of  the  roads  themselves,  as  I 
have  said,  secures  employment  to  more  than  three-quarters  of 
a  million  of  people.  All  this  work  of  the  railroads  has  not, 
in  all  probability,  displaced  a  single  coachman  ;  on  the  other 
hand,  it  has  created  the  demand  for  drivers  and  workers  with 
horses  and  wagons  through  the  great  expansion  of  the  express 
business,  of  cab-driving,  of  connecting  lines  and  in  other 
directions,  which  could  not  have  taken  place  under  the  old 
stage-coach  regime. 

When  the  sewing  machine  was  invented  it  was  thought  that 
the  sewing  girl's  day  was  over.  So  it  was  in  a  certain  respect. 
She  can  now  earn  more  money  with  less  physical  exhaustion 
than  under  the  old  system.  Abominably  poor  as  are  the 
results  of  her  efforts  now,  they  are  far  better  than  they  would 
have  been  without  this  invention.  But  as  a  means  of  the 
expansion  of  labor  the  sewing  machine  is  a  striking  illustration. 
It  has  displaced  no  one  ;  it  has  increased  demand,  and  it  has 
been  the  means  of  establishing  great  workshops  to  supply  the 
thousands  of  machines  that  are  sold  throughout  the  world. 

The  inventions  of  Goodyear,  whereby  rubber  gum  could  be 
so  treated  as  to  be  made  into  articles  of  wearing  apparel,  have 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  great  industries  as  new 
creations.  We  need  not  in  this  place  consider  the  great 
benefits  through  the  use  of  water-proof  clothing.  The  mere 
fact  that  great  industries  have  arisen  where  none  existed 
before  is  sufficient  for  our  purpose.  I  might  take  up  much 
time  in  simply  accumulating  illustrations  showing  the  ex- 
pansive force  of  inventions  in  the  direction  of  creating  new 


92  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

opportunities  for  remunerative  employment.  The  facts  I  have 
given  show  conclusively  that  displacement  has  been  more  than 
offset  by  expansion.  Yet,  if  the  question  be  asked,  Has  the 
wage-earner  received  his  just  and  equitable  share  of  the  eco- 
nomic benefits  derived  from  the  introduction  of  machinery  ? 
the  answer  must  be,  No.  I  mean  by  this  his  relative  share, 
compared  with  that  going  to  capital.  In  the  struggle  for 
supremacy,  in  the  great  countries  devoted  to  mechanical 
production  it  probably  has  been  impossible  for  him  to  share 
equitably  in  such  benefits.  Notwithstanding  this,  his  share 
has  been  enormous,  and  the  gain  to  him  such  as  to  change  his 
whole  relation  to  society  and  the  state,  such  changes  affecting 
his  moral  position. 

It  is  certainly  true — and  the  statement  is  simply  cumulative 
evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  view  that  expansion  of  labor 
through  inventions  has  been  equal  or  superior  to  any  displace- 
ment that  has  taken  place — that  in  those  countries  given  to 
the  development  and  use  of  machinery  there  is  found  the 
greatest  proportion  of  employed  persons,  and  that  in  those 
countries  where  machinery  has  been  developed  to  little  or  no 
purpose  poverty  reigns,  ignorance  is  the  prevailing  condition, 
and  civilization  consequently  far  in  the  rear. 

THE  ETHICAL  INFLUENCE  OF  INVENTIONS. 

According  to  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer,  ethics  comprehends  the 
laws  of  right  living  ;  and  that,  beyond  the  conduct  commonly 
approved  or  reprobated  as  right  or  wrong,  it  includes  all  con- 
duct which  furthers  or  hinders,  in  direct  or  in  indirect  ways, 
the  welfare  of  self  or  others  ;  that  justice,  which  formulates 
the  range  of  conduct  and  limitations  to  conduct  hence  arising, 
is  at  once  the  most  important  division  of  ethics  ;  that  it  has  to 
define  the  equitable  relations  among  individuals  who  limit  one 
another's  spheres  of  action  by  co-existing,  and  who  achieve 
their  ends  by  cooperation  ;  and  that,  beyond  justice  between 
man  and  man,  justice  between  each  man  and  the  aggregate  of 
men  has  to  be  dealt  with  by  it. 

This  constitutes  a  very  broad  definition  of  ethics,  and  the 
propositions  laid  down  by  Mr.  Spencer,  taken  by  themselves, 
are  such  as  no  moral  philosopher  can  for  a  moment  reject,  nor 


PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE   CONGRESS.  93 

should  they  be  rejected  by  economists,  for  a  moment's  reflec- 
tion upon  their  bearing  shows  conclusively  that  material  pros- 
perity is  best  subserved  by  their  incorporation  as  chapters  in 
the  laws  of  trade,  commerce,  and  production.  So  the  relation 
of  the  wage  receiver  to  his  fellow-man  and  to  society  becomes 
ethical,  purely  so ;  but  it  is  certainly  ethico-economical,  and 
his  wages,  the  standard  of  his  living  ;  his  working  time,  the  cost 
of  his  living  ;  his  education,  his  interest  in  religious  and  liter- 
ary matters,  in  art,  and  in  all  that  adorns  life,  are  features 
surrounding  him  which  must  be  contemplated  from  the  ethical 
point  of  view.  This  thought  is  all  the  more  emphatic  when  it 
is  considered  that  invention  has  brought  with  it  a  new  school 
of  ethics.  It  is  the  type  and  representative  of  the  civilization 
of  this  period,  because  it  embodies,  so  far  as  physics  and  eco- 
nomics are  concerned,  the  concentrated,  clearly  wrought-out 
thought  of  the  age.  Books  may  represent  thought ;  machinery 
or  invention  is  the  embodiment  of  thought.  From  an  intel- 
lectual point  of  view,  then,  it  becomes  perfectly  legitimate  to 
speak  of  the  ethical  influence  of  inventions,  and  no  considera- 
tion of  the  relation  of  inventions  to  labor  would  be  complete 
without  showing  in  a  more  deeply  philosophical  sense  the 
ethical  influence  upon  the  individual  laborer. 

We  are  living  at  the  beginning  of  the  age  of  mind,  as  illus- 
trated by  the  results  of  inventive  genius.  It  is  the  age  of 
intellect,  of  brain — for  brain  is  king,  and  machinery  is  the  king's 
prime  minister.  Wealth  of  mind  and  wealth  of  purse  may 
struggle  for  the  mastery,  but  the  former  usually  wins,  and 
gives  the  crown  to  the  Huxleys,  Darwins,  Tyndalls,  Proctors, 
Woolseys,  and  Drapers,  rather  than  to  the  men  who  accumu- 
late great  fortunes.  It  is  natural  and  logical  that  under  such 
a  sovereignty  inventions  should  not  only  typify  the  progress  of 
the  race,  but  that  they  should  also  have  a  clearly  marked  influ- 
ence upon  the  morals  of  peoples,  a  mixed  influence,  to  be  sure, 
as  men  are  what  we  call  good  or  evil,  but  on  the  whole  with 
the  good  vastly  predominant. 

The  philosopher  of  the  pessimistic  school  usually  finds  in 
the  economic  influence  of  inventions  a  great  displacement  of 
labor  or  back-work,  and  he  calls  the  attention  of  the  thinkers 
of  the  present  day  to  the  supposed  glories  of  the  past.  lie 


94  PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

calls  up  for  consideration  what  he  designates  the  peaceful  and 
happy  days  of  labor  under  the  domestic  system  ;  he  sees  in  the 
growing  importance  of  inventions  what  he  is  pleased  to  call 
the  destruction  of  the  individuality  of  men  and  their  retrogres- 
sion to  mere  puppets,  without  the  intelligence  of  the  machinery 
he  deplores  ;  he  sees  in  the  division  of  labor  what  is  to  him  a 
sure  corollary  of  invention,  the  degradation  of  labor,  the  dwarf- 
ing and  narrowing  of  the  mind,  and  the  complete  subjugation 
of  all  manly  qualities ;  he  fails  to  comprehend  work  as  any- 
thing more  than  mere  manual  labor,  the  expenditure  of  muscle, 
and  never  realizes  that  work  means  employment — occupation — 
the  means  by  which  all  sane  people  secure  happiness  for  them- 
selves and  for  those  whom  they  love,  and  that  whatever  is  done 
in  the  name  of  service  to  mankind  is  work,  and  that  the  work 
which  calls  out  the  highest  faculties  of  the  worker,  whether  of 
endeavor  or  aspiration,  is  for  him  the  highest  employment. 
He  also  fails  to  comprehend,  or,  at  least,  he  overlooks  the  fact, 
that  under  the  domestic  system  of  labor  displaced  by  invention 
the  most  demoralizing  conditions  prevailed.  He  finds  some- 
thing exceedingly  poetic  in  the  idea  of  the  weaver  of  old  Eng- 
land, before  the  spinning  machinery  was  invented,  working  at 
his  loom  in  his  cottage,  with  his  family  about  him,  some  card- 
ing, others  spinning  the  wool  or  the  cotton  for  the  weaver,  and 
so  falls  into  the  idyllic  sentiment  that  the  domestic  system 
surpassed  the  present.  This  idyllic  sentiment  has  done  much 
to  create  false  impressions  as  to  the  results  or  influence  of 
inventions.  Goldsmith's  Auburn  and  Crabbe's  Village  do  not 
reflect  the  truest  picture  of  their  country's  home  life  under  the 
domestic  system  of  labor,  for  the  domestic  laborer's  home, 
instead  of  being  the  poetic  one,  was  very  far  from  the  character 
poetry  has  given  it.  Huddled  together  in  his  hut,  not  a  cot- 
tage, the  weaver's  family  lived  and  worked,  without  comfort, 
convenience,  good  air,  good  food,  and  without  much  intelli- 
gence. Drunkenness  and  theft  made  each  home  the  scene  of 
crime  and  want  and  disorder.  Superstition  ruled,  and  envy 
swayed  the  workers.  If  the  members  of  a  family,  endowed 
with  more  virtue  and  intelligence  than  the  common  herd,  tried 
to  so  conduct  themselves  as  to  secure  at  least  self-respect,  they 
were  either  abused  or  ostracized  by  their  neighbors.  The 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  95 

ignorance  under  the  old  system  added  to  the  squalor  of  the 
homes  under  it,  and  what  all  these  elements  failed  to  produce 
in  making  the  hut  an  actual  den  was  faithfully  performed,  in 
too  many  instances,  by  the  swine  of  the  family.  The  reports 
of  the  Poor  L,aws  Commissioners  of  England  are  truer  expo- 
nents of  conditions  than  poetry,  and  show  more  faithfully  the 
demoralizing  agency  of  pauperism  and  of  all  the  other  evils 
which  were  so  prolific  under  the  hand-system  of  work. 

The  influence  of  invention  at  this  particular  time  in  the 
history  of  mankind  is  usually  overlooked  by  the  philosopher 
with  a  pessimistic  turn  of  mind,  and  he  also  overlooks  the 
fact  that  if  there  is  any  one  thing  in  individuals  that  this  age 
insists  upon  more  than  any  preceding  age,  it  is  work — employ- 
ment of  some  kind.  Once  it  was  enough  to  be  good  ;  now  one 
must  prove  himself  valuable  or  he  becomes,  if  not  an  actual, 
a  social  and  a  moral  tramp.  St.  Paul  said:  "To  him  that 
worketh,  reward  is  reckoned  not  of  grace,  but  of  debt."  Yet 
when  a  man  is  employed  to  the  extent  of  the  support  of  him- 
self and  his  own,  the  reward  must  be  reckoned  of  grace  ;  and  he 
is  capable  of  a  better  and  purer  religion,  for  a  poverty-stricken 
people  cannot  well  be  a  religious  people.  Ethics  and  pure 
religion  most  assuredly  have  much  to  do  with  everything  that 
affects  the  conduct  of  life ;  they  constitute  the  art  of  living 
well,  not  merely  of  dying  well,  and  they  are  the  science  of 
being  and  of  doing.  The  aim  of  the  modern  Christ  would  be 
to  raise  the  whole  platform  of  society,  says  an  ethical  writer  * 
of  our  day.  The  modern  Christ  would  not  try  to  make  the 
poor  contented  with  a  lot  in  which  they  cannot  be  much  better 
than  savages  or  brutes,  and  he  would  not  content  himself  with 
denouncing  sin  as  merely  spiritual  evil.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  would  go  into  the  economic  causes  of  sin  and  destroy  the 
flower  by  cutting  at  the  very  roots,  which  are  poverty  and 
ignorance ;  and  the  lowest,  the  most  harmful  and  the  most 
expensive  ignorance  of  to-day  is  ignorance  of  work — the  want 
of  some  technical  knowledge  which  enables  a  man  to  earn  his 
own  living  outside  of  penal  institutions.  Poverty  and  pure 
religion  cannot  exist  among  the  same  people,  for  such  a 
religion  cannot  prevail  unless  the  people  are  engaged  in  that 

*Dr.  C.  C.  Everett. 


96  PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

class  of  employment  which  tends  to  broaden  all  their  faculties, 
to  awaken  not  only  their  sense  of  duty  to  their  kind,  but  also 
to  develop  their  love  of  beauty,  of  art,  and  of  all  that  adorns 
and  ennobles  life  ;  and  such  employment  cannot  be  maintained 
without  the  vitalizing  use  of  inventions  as  the  enduring, 
working  and  perfect  embodiment  of  human  ingenuity.  We 
are  hardly  aware  of  the  silent  working  influence  of  machinery 
upon  the  morals  of  the  world  ;  it  is  recognized  in  this  thought 
I  have  outlined,  that  poverty  and  religion  are  not  now,  as 
once,  twin  virtues.  Christianity  only  prevails  in  industrious 
communities.  The  people  of  America,  with  all  their  faults  and 
foibles,  are  more  religious  in  the  truest  sense  than  any  other 
people ;  and  this,  I  am  sure,  is  because  amongst  a  democratic 
people,  where  there  is  no  hereditary  wealth,  every  man  works 
to  earn  a  living,  or  has  worked,  or  is  the  son  of  parents  who 
have  worked,  the  notion  of  labor  therefore  being  presented  to 
the  mind  on  every  side  as  the  necessary,  natural  and  honest 
condition  of  human  existence.  A  wealthy  man  even  thinks  he 
owes  it  to  public  opinion  to  devote  his  leisure  to  some  kind  of 
industrial  or  commercial  pursuit,  or  to  public  business.  He 
would  think  himself  in  bad  repute  if  foe  employed  his  life 
solely  in  living  (a).  This  idea  of  life  or  of  active  living  is 
stimulated  by  all  the  elements  which  make  up  the  essential 
characteristics  of  our  period. 

Professor  Everett,  of  the  Harvard  Divinity  School,  in  an 
admirable  paper  entitled  ' '  The  new  Ethics, ' '  gives  an  excel- 
lent illustration  of  this  truth.  "The  time  has  been,"  he  says, 
1 '  when  poverty  was  felt  to  be  to  some  extent  a  mark  of 
sanctity.  Your  tramp  would  lack  little  of  being  regarded,  if 
not  as  a  saint,  at  least  as  a  very  good  representative  of  one. 
Poverty  was  regarded  as,  in  a  double  sense,  a  means  of  grace. 
The  poor  themselves  were  not  far  from  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  ;  at  the  same  time  they  furnished  one  of  the  readiest 
means  of  salvation  to  their  rich  neighbors.  It  was  the  poor 
who  carried  the  souls  of  the  rich  to  heaven.  Thus  poverty 
was  to  be  comforted  and  solaced.  It  was  to  be  in  some  way 
ameliorated.  The  poor  were  at  any  event  to  be  kept  alive. 
But  the  idea  of  doing  away  with  poverty  would  have  been 

a.  Democracy  in  America,  by  De  Tocqueville. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF    THE    CONGRESS.  97 

considered  if  not  sacrilegious,  at  least  hardly  desirable.  This 
life  of  poverty  was,  indeed,  the  ideal  life."  This  ideal  life  of 
poverty  continued  to  be  the  leading  thought  so  long  as  the 
domestic  system  of  labor  prevailed.  The  age  of  machinery,  of 
invention,  of  active  mental  competition,  as  set  over  against 
purely  muscular  competition,  has  changed  this  whole  state  of 
things ;  for  now  it  is  considered  that  poverty  is  not  the 
blessing,  but  the  curse  of  society,  and  the  whole  social  effort  is 
not  so  much  to  ameliorate  as  to  abolish  it.  Charity,  instead  of 
being  regarded  as  the  ideal  virtue,  is,  at  least  under  its  old 
form,  regarded  as  a  weakness,  if  not  as  a  vice.  To  help  men,  we 
must  now  help  them  to  help  themselves.  We  must  give  work — 
employment,  mental  or  muscular  occupation,  and  in  it  find  not 
the  cure-all,  not  the  panacea  for  all  of  the  evils  that  threaten 
society,  but  a  great  uplifting  influence,  which  in  time  will 
become  a  panacea  for  some  of  the  evils ;  but  in  order  to  have 
this  great  influence  induce  the  very  best  conditions  for  the 
reception  and  growth  and  home  of  a  high  state  of  morals,  the 
prerequisite  of  religious  advancement,  the  employment  or  work 
should  be  of  the  very  highest  grade.  If  the  lowest  grade  of 
employment  leads  to  self-respect,  and  the  dignity  and  repose 
even,  which  come  of  self-support  (a  proposition  which  cannot 
be  denied),  how  ennobling  must  be  that  employment  which 
not  only  stimulates  the  highest  faculties,  but  also  excites 
admiration  for  the  perfect  and  love  for  the  beautiful !  A  man 
cannot  superintend  the  movements  of  a  complicated  piece  of 
machinery  and  not  feel  this  silent  working  influence,  and, 
maybe,  become  the  better  for  his  experience.  His  mind  intui- 
tively takes  on  the  harmony  of  action  and  finds  itself  running 
in  tune  to  something  which  represents  embodied  thought.  Any 
man  witnessing  the  operations  of  the  wonderful  mechanism  of 
the  needle  machine  feels  a  continued  influence  from  his  ob- 
servations. There  is  something  peculiarly  educational  in  the 
very  presence  of  the  working  of  mechanical  powers.  The 
witnessing  of  the  automatic  movements  of  a  machine  stimu- 
lates thought,  and,  coupled  with  necessity  or  desire,  makes  the 
beholder  not  only  the  inventor  of  other  movements,  but  also 
brings  him  to  a  higher  respect  for  the  inventions  of  the  world 
and  creates  in  him  a  mental  activity  which  places  him  on  a 


98  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

higher  standard  than  that  on  which  he  lived  prior  to  his 
invention.  In  the  first  steam  engines  a  boy  was  constantly 
employed  to  open  and  shut  alternately  the  communication 
between  the  boiler  and  the  cylinder,  according  as  the  pistons 
either  ascended  or  descended.  One  of  these  boys,  who,  like 
most  boys,  loved  to  play  with  his  companions,  observed  that 
by  tying  a  string  from  the  handle  of  a  valve  which  opened  this 
communication  to  another  part  of  the  machine,  the  valve 
would  open  and  shut  without  his  assistance  and  leave  him  at 
liberty  to  divert  himself  with  his  fellows.  Probably  there  was 
a  displacement  of  labor,  for  one  of  the  greatest  improvements 
that  has  been  made  upon  the  steam  engine  since  it  was  first 
invented  was  the  discovery  of  a  boy  who  wanted  to  save  his  own 
labor.  And  so  it  has  been  that  very  many  of  the  machines 
made  use  of  in  manufactures  have  been  invented  by  workmen 
who,  being  employed  in  some  simple  operation,  have  turned 
their  thoughts  toward  finding  out  easier  and  readier  methods 
of  performing  it  (£). 

These  things  stimulate  industry,  and,  as  I  have  said,  indus- 
try and  poverty  are  not  hand-maidens ;  and  so  as  poverty  is 
lessened,  good  morals  thrive.  If  labor — employment  of  the 
mind — is  an  essential  to  good  morals,  then  the  highest  kind  of 
employment — that  requiring  the  most  application,  the  best 
intellectual  effort — means  the  best  religion  and  the  best  morals. 
If  it  were  not  so,  then  the  continued  employment  at  the 
crudest  muscular  labor  would  be  the  best  for  mankind.  But 
the  condition  I  have  named,  I  take  courage  to  assert,  is  super- 
induced eventually  by  the  employment  of  so-called  labor-saving 
machinery  and  the  division  of  labor,  and  the  reverse  of  this 
condition  is  superinduced  by  the  continued  and  exhausting 
application  of  much  muscle  and  the  use  of  little  intellect. 

In  the  early  histoty  of  political  economy  we  find  that  prog- 
ress was  supposed  to  be  the  result  of  the  division  of  labor ; 
to-day  it  is  very  often  the  b£te  noir  of  a  class  of  philosophers 
who  do  not  look  beyond  the  apparent  displacement  of  muscular 
labor  by  the  use  of  improved  machinery.  These  philosophers 
make  out  a  most  excellent  prima  facie  case,  as  I  have  shown 
by  the  facts  cited  relative  to  the  displacement  or  contraction  of 

b.  Adam  Smith  :  Wealth  of  Nations. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  99 

labor.  The  error  lies  in  taking  the  prima  facie  case  for  the 
conclusive  evidence,  which  is  found  in  joining  the  facts  per- 
taining to  the  expansion  of  labor.  Now  the  optimist  sees  in 
the  division  of  labor  what  may  well  be  called  the  emancipation 
of  labor,  and  instead  of  the  dwarfing  of  minds,  the  undue  stim- 
ulation of  industrial  enterprises  and  moral  retrogression,  he 
sees  the  fuller  development,  in  every  direction,  of  minds,  of 
industries,  of  moral  relations ;  and  he  sees  in  the  clouds  created 
by  the  modern  philosophers  the  warm  showers  which  will 
sprout  the  germs  of  the  solution  of  some  of  the  vexed  questions 
of  labor.  Communism,  which  means  the  destruction  of  labor, 
cannot  co-exist  with  machinery.  It  must  be  true  that  without 
machinery  the  world  would  retrograde  to  superstition  and  con- 
sequent irreligion,  and  that  without  machinery  the  ingenuity 
of  man  must  assume  its  old  place  among  the  unused  faculties 
of  the  mind. 

These  truths,  or  what  to  my  mind  are  truths,  are  easily  and 
conclusively  illustrated  by  many  e very-day  observations.  In 
some  of  the  Spanish  localities  of  New  Mexico  the  plow  of  to- 
day is  the  bent  stick  of  the  Egyptians ;  but  as  the  railroad  cuts 
through  the  land  and  through  the  ignorance  of  New  Mexico, 
it  straightens  out  the  plows  as  it  straightens  out  the  streets  of 
that  country — by  the  sheer  influence  of  parallel  lines.  When 
a  railroad  is  run  through  a  straggling  town,  with  houses 
thrown  together  as  a  child  leaves  its  toys  upon  the  floor,  the 
first  thing  is  to  set  it  to  streets  running  parallel  with  and  at 
right  angles  to  the  railroad.  The  whistle  of  the  locomotive 
has  shrieked  out  a  vast  amount  of  civilization  during  the  past 
fifty  or  sixty  years,  for  with  its  shriek  and  as  its  cinders  fell  to 
the  ground,  the  spelling-book  and  the  New  Testament  have 
been  lodged  as  fixtures  in  the  new  country. 

All  such  illustrations  are  commonplace,  indeed,  but  they 
are  necessary  in  a  discussion  of  the  influence  of  inventions  upon 
labor. 

The  division  of  labor  has  grown  finer  and  finer  as  machinery 
has  grown  more  and  more  essential  to  the  production  of  goods. 
The  consequence  is  that  trades  are  hardly  essential  now,  and 
the  mechanic  of  a  generation  ago  feels  grieved  because  the 
artisan  of  to-day  is  not  obliged  to  spend  from  three  to  seven 


ioo  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

years  in  learning  a  trade,  and  thereby  be  robbed  to  a  great 
extent  of  the  results  of  his  labor.  The  apprentice  boy,  if 
bright,  could  learn  his  trade  in  less  than  the  time  required,  but 
he  could  not  become  a  journeyman  until  he  had  been  pro- 
nounced such  by  the  time  spent  at  learning  a  trade  ;  and  after 
he  had  become  skillful  his  wages  were  exploited  to  the  extent 
of  his  skill,  and  he  was  obliged  to  contribute  more  in  the  way 
of  actual  earnings  than  he  received.  But  this  was  not  the 
worst.  Finding  that  he  was  robbed  by  the  system,  he  finally 
undertook  to  earn  no  more  than  he  was  paid,  and  so  acquired 
habits  of  unthrift  which  would  follow  him  through  life.  The 
apprentice  boy  has  disappeared  from  the  industrial  world,  but 
the  old-school  workman,  instead  of  glorying  in  the  fact  that  he 
has  disappeared  and  that  the  time  has  come,  or  is  coming,  when 
the  years  spent  in  learning  a  trade  are  considered  as  partially 
lost  time,  feels  the  absence  of  the  apprentice  as  a  menace.  But 
the  intelligent  workman,  I  am  happy  to  know,  has  changed 
his  views  in  this  respect,  and  finds  that  through  manual  train- 
ing and  the  results  of  the  trade  school,  a  boy  can  utilize  his 
whole  time,  and  as  soon  as  accomplished  or  equipped  in  his 
trade,  can  command  the  wages  legitimately  his  due ;  and  the 
boy  who  has  had  the  experience  of  good  training  schools  has 
the  advantage  over  the  old  apprentice,  for  he  discovers  that 
instead  of  one  trade  at  which  he  can  secure  a  living,  he  may 
seek  remunerative  employment  through  his  handy  skill  in 
other  trades  when  the  chosen  one  does  not  furnish  sufficient 
employment.  This  enables  the  world  to  go  on  in  the  diversity 
of  employment  or  development,  or  the  versatility  of  talent, 
which  is  the  secret  of  that  future  distribution  of  labor  so  much 
to  be  desired  before  the  full  results  of  the  readjustment  of 
industrial  forces  from  the  domestic  system  to  the  age  of 
machinery  shall  be  complete. 

With  this  diversity  of  employment  will  come  still  shorter 
hours  of  labor  and,  consequently,  increased  opportunities  for 
mental  and  moral  improvement.  This  age  has  already  brought 
greatly  increased  wages,  a  greatly  reduced  working  time  and 
a  largely  reduced  cost  of  the  principal  articles  of  consumption. 

I  cannot  analyze  in  the  space  and  time  allotted  me  the 
deductions  of  statistics  which  emphatically  prove  these  things  ; 


PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE    CONGRESS.  101 

nor  is  it  essential.  Such  statistics  exist.  Wages  have  been 
increased,  and  one  illustration  must  suffice,  and  I  will  draw 
this  illustration  from  the  cotton  industry  of  this  country,  the 
first  to  feel  the  effects  of  invention.  The  ratio  of  wages  for 
1828  and  1880,  in  producing  common  cotton  cloth,  was  as 
2.62  in  the  former  year  to  4.84  in  the  latter  year,  while  in  the 
cost  of  production  the  ratio  was  reversed,  it  being  as  6.77  in 
1828  to  3.31  in  1880.  The  hours  of  labor  have  been  reduced 
from  twelve  or  thirteen  per  day  in  the  same  industry  to  nine 
and  one-half  in  England  and  ten  generally  in  this  country. 
An  examination  of  statistical  tables  will  convince  anyone  that 
for  most  divisions  of  labor  in  cotton  factories  wages  have  very 
nearly  doubled  during  the  past  sixty  years,  not  only  in  Great 
Britain  but  in  this  country,  and  an  examination  of  the  wage 
statistics  of  very  many  industries  shows  the  same  results  with, 
however,  a  varying  percentage  of  increase. 

As  to  production,  the  facts  given  in  the  earlier  part  of  this 
address  must  suffice.  There  can  be  no  question  in  regard  to 
this  feature  of  the  influence  of  inventions. 

With  inventions  there  came  the  discussions  and  agitations 
of  England  for  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  operatives, 
resulting  in  less  hours  of  labor,  machinery  guarded  against 
accident  and  all  the  beneficent  laws  for  the  elevation  of  the 
British  factory  workers  to  the  plane  of  men  and  women.  This 
work  is  still  incomplete,  but  is  progressive. 

The  inevitable  result  of  machinery  to  enable  man  to  secure  a 
livelihood  in  less  time  than  of  old  is  grand  in  itself  if  none  other 
had  been  secured.  But  this  is  not  so  much  the  effect  of  legislation 
as  of  changed  conditions  brought  about  by  the  use  of  inventions. 
It  must  be  considered  that  as  the  time  required  to  earn  a  living 
grows  shorter  civilization  grows  up,  and  that  that  system  which 
demands  of  a  man  all  his  time,  or  a  great  portion  of  it,  for  the 
earning  of  mere  subsistence  is  demoralizing  in  all  respects. 

It  cannot  be  successfully  denied  that  the  direct  influence  of 
inventions  has  been  felt  in  these  three  ways  I  have  just 
outlined — the  increase  in  wages  (and  I  mean  by  this  the 
increase  in  actual  earnings  in  a  given  time),  the  reduction  of 
working  time,  and  the  decreased  cost  of  articles  of  consump- 
tion, whereby  wages  are  made  more  efficient. 


102  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

Another  exceedingly  important  influence  which  has  grown 
from  the  division  of  labor  by  the  use  of  machinery  in  produc- 
tion relates  to  the  length  of  life  and  to  the  means  of  comfort- 
able living.  We  are  told  that  in  the  good  old  times  so  many 
sick  or  feeble  people  were  not  seen  as  now.  This  is  true, 
because  they  died.  The  feeble  could  not  live  under  the  old 
conditions ;  only  the  most  robust  and  sturdiest  physical 
natures  could  survive,  and  none  others  were  seen.  To-day 
the  presence  of  feeble  men  and  women  of  advancing  years 
does  not  show  degeneracy  of  the  race ;  they  must  be  looked 
upon  as  a  living  glory  of  our  civilization,  which  enables  them 
to  exist.  It  shows  elevation  of  the  race,  and  that  now,  under 
the  conditions  of  life,  the  result  of  all  the  various  inventions 
which  look  to  the  comfortable  existence  of  people,  the  com- 
paratively feeble  cannot  only  live,  but  can,  if  they  choose, 
support  themselves  in  a  great  measure,  for  feeble  and  dainty 
hands  can  perform  work  to  which,  in  the  good  old  time,  only 
a  giant  would  have  been  assigned.  I  need  not  specify  the 
lines  on  which  invention  has  perfected  or  established  these 
conditions.  They  are  too  familiar  to  every  one.  In  warm  and 
comfortable  clothing,  in  water-proof  material,  in  heating  and 
lighting,  in  a  thousand  ways,  invention  has  carried  with  it 
comfortable  conditions,  increased  health  and  an  increased 
longevity  ;  for  now  the  average  life  is  at  least  ten  per  cent, 
higher  than  in  the  olden  time. 

The  beauty,  the  art,  the  enthusiasm,  which  belong  to  good 
morals  can  only  grow  to  the  wage  receiver  with  a  high  order 
of  employment  and  the  division  of  labor,  and  with  a  high 
order  of  employment  not  only  for  profit,  but  for  recreation — 
for  art  even.  The  age  of  inventions,  or  periods  given  to  the 
development  and  practical  adaptation  of  natural  laws,  raises 
all  people  coming  under  their  influence  to  a  higher  intellectual 
level,  to  a  more  comprehensive  understanding  of  the  world's 
great  march  of  progress. 

Low  grades  of  labor  are  constantly  giving  place  to  educated 
labor.  The  man  who  used  to  do  the  most  detestable  form  of 
work  is  being  displaced  by  the  professional  who  superintends 
some  device  brought  into  use  by  invention,  and  the  constant 
promotion  of  luxuries  to  the  grade  of  necessaries  of  life  also 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  103 

marks  the  forward  steps  of  civilization  and  positively  demands 
the  fullest  play  of  the  ingenuity  of  man  to  place  them  within 
reach.  By  invention,  what  were  luxuries  to  one  class  are 
now  the  necessaries  of  life  to  a  class  that  might  be  considered 
below  the  first.  The  manufacturer  often  finds  that  he  is 
obliged  to  sell  for  old  metal  the  grand  mechanical  construction 
of  a  decade  ago.  Old  successes  are  constantly  giving  place 
to  the  new,  which  make  old  mechanical  perfections  bungling 
in  our  present  sight,  and  they  must  be  destroyed  to  give  place 
to  the  new.  An  examination  carried  on  in  any  direction 
demonstrates  the  proposition  that  all  progress,  every  step  in 
advance,  is  over  apparent  destruction,  and,  like  every  pioneer 
who  has  ever  startled  the  world  with  his  discoveries  and  by 
them  benefitted  his  kind,  is  over  the  graves  of  men  individu- 
ally or  over  their  aspirations.  Ignorance  in  men,  as  well  as 
the  men  of  ignorance,  is  in  the  way  of  progress,  and  must 
give  way  to  intelligence. 

As  space  and  time  have  been  overcome,  inordinate  differences 
in  values  have  been  overcome  ;  the  markets  of  the  world  have 
been  equalized,  sectional  resources  have  become  cosmopolitan 
in  their  character,  as  peoples  of  all  the  world  have  become 
acquainted.  All  these  influences  have  disarranged  trade,  up- 
set old  principles  ;  and  we  of  the  present  time  are  living  in  a 
transition  period  of  readjustment,  or  rather  adjustment,  that  is 
like  the  early  days  of  convalescence  from  fever — painful  from 
lingering  weakness,  but  joyous  in  the  full  knowledge  of  prog- 
ress. In  this  adjustment  individuals  go  down.  The  divine 
plan  to  perfect  all  the  creations  which  make  up  the  universe 
takes  no  notice  of  individuals,  and  is  apparently  profligate  of 
human  life ;  but  goes  on  with  the  work,  crushing  if  need  be, 
killing  if  it  must,  but  always  polishing,  always  purifying, 
always  perfecting. 

The  wheel  of  progress  rolls  on,  destroying  the  old  as  it  rolls, 
crushing  out  ignorance ;  but  it  rolls  all  the  time,  and  man  is 
often  obliged  to  give  way  before  it,  as  the  old  machine  is 
thrown  aside  for  the  new.  Educated  labor,  as  the  pioneer, 
must  step  over  human  graves,  over  buried  ambitions  and  lost 
opportunities  ;  the  law  is  infallible,  even  if  in  our  short-sight- 
edness we  call  it  cruel. 


104  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

All  the  benefits  of  the  division  of  labor  and  the  application 
of  invention,  like  the  reduction  of  working  time,  corresponding 
increase  of  wages,  the  decreased  cost  of  production,  etc.,  are 
benefits  particularly  marked  during  the  past  century,  and  they 
have  given  to  man  a  wonderfully  enhanced  power  to  command 
what  rulers  a  century  ago,  with  all  the  appointments  of  war 
and  the  adjuncts  of  unlimited  exchequers,  could  not  command. 
The  individual  profits,  as  well  as  his  kind,  which  claims  the 
reward  of  improved  conditions.  We  can  hardly  realize  that 
there  should  have  ever  been  a  time  when  a  linen  sheet  was 
worth  thirty-two  days  of  common  labor,  and  when  a  gridiron 
cost  from  four  to  twelve  days  labor.  Nor  can  we  fully  com- 
prehend the  moral  influence  which  has  come  in  other  directions. 
It  is  hard  to  understand  that  even  within  the  memory  of  men 
now  living  the  first  change  in  the  way  of  speed  in  transporta- 
tion or  in  the  interchange  of  intelligence  came  to  the  world. 
Prior  to  the  generation  which  precedes  the  present  the  fastest 
time  that  could  be  made  was  through  the  speed  of  man,  or  of 
horses,  or  of  sailing  vessels,  except,  perhaps,  in  the  occasional 
transmission  of  intelligence  by  signals.  So,  as  oddly  as  the 
purely  economic  changes  seem  to  us,  they  strike  with  much 
less  marvel  then  the  reflection  that  Cyrus,  when  he  had  turned 
the  river  Euphrates  from  its  channel  and  captured  the  city  of 
Babylon,  could  inform  his  associates  at  home  of  his  feat  as 
quickly  as  could  Washington  the  American  Congress  of  the 
defeat  of  Cornwallis  ;  or  that  Alexander  after  the  battle  at 
Arbela  could  send  the  news  of  his  great  victory  for  civilization 
to  his  capital  in  the  same  time  it  took  Jackson  to  inform  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  that  the  British  army  had 
surrendered  to  him  at  New  Orleans,  and  so  won  the  already 
granted  peace  for  this  country. 

It  has  been  reserved  for  the  age  of  machinery,  and  for  ma- 
chinery itself,  to  cure  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  national 
and  grand  movements  which  beset  the  governments  existing 
back  of  this  epoch,  and  now  the  great  engineering  enterprises 
of  the  day  are  being  developed,  and  are  thus  solving  the  prob- 
lem of  how  to  relieve  congested  cities  and  of  how  to  give  to  the 
wage-worker,  who  must  save  time  as  between  his  lodging  and 
his  work,  the  benefits  of  healthful  surroundings  in  the  country. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  105 

Rapid  transit,  through  the  application  of  electricity  to  street 
cars  in  the  city  of  Boston  within  a  few  months,  has  added  one- 
half  hour  of  the  day  to  the  workingman's  available  time.  This 
is  the  influence  of  invention,  and  a  moral  influence,  for  it 
betters  his  condition,  helps  him  to  a  higher  plane,  facilitates 
social  intercourse,  and  in  every  way  gives  him  better  oppor- 
tunities for  enjoying  all  that  belongs  to  his  environment. 

These  grand  movements  are  the  movements  of  great  com- 
munities, but  by  inventive  skill,  by  the  application  of  ingenuity, 
the  gain  to  the  individual  has  been  exceedingly  marked,  and 
perhaps  in  a  more  specific  way  than  to  communities  at  large. 

To  create  is  the  province  of  the  Omnipotent.  The  second 
great  attribute,  through  the  agencies  established  by  Omnipo- 
tence, is  to  develop,  and  this  allies  man  to  his  Creator.  Can 
such  a  thought  be  illustrated  by  figures  ?  Most  surely ;  for 
educated  labor,  with  applied  natural  forces,  has  developed  a 
pound  of  cotton  costing  13  cents  into  muslin  which  sells  for  80 
cents ;  into  chintz  which  sells  for  $4.  It  has  developed  75 
cents'  worth  of  common  iron  ore  into  $5  worth  of  bar  iron,  $10 
worth  of  horse  shoes,  $180  worth  of  table  knives,  $6, 800  worth 
of  fine  needles,  $29,480  worth  of  shirt  buttons,  $200,000  worth 
of  watch  springs,  $400,000  worth  of  hair  springs,  and  $2,500,000 
worth  of  pallet  arbors  (c).  Intelligent,  skilled  labor,  with  its 
product  of  mind  has  accomplished  this,  and  the  individual,  as 
well  as  the  state,  has  profited  by  the  development.  Under 
such  development  a  common  man  can  ride  to  his  work  or  upon 
his  travels  in  palaces  that  would  have  been  the  envy  of  kings, 
and  he  can  send  the  word  of  his  arrival  with  a  flash.  He  has 
learned  that  the  wants  of  a  free  people  increase  as  fast  as  there 
are  means  of  supply,  and  that  "contentment  with  one's  lot  is 
"the  virtue  of  the  subjects  of  a  despotically  governed  and 
"non-progressive  state,  and  self-denial  the  virtue  of  a  poor 
"and  uuprosperous  people;"  and  he  has  learned,  too,  that 
the  ranks  of  the  skilled  and  intelligent  workmen  are  not  thinned 
by  the  workhouse  and  the  penitentiary,  but  that  the  ranks  of 
ignorant  labor  are  prolific  in  stocking  such  institutions.  He 
will  learn  in  the  future  that  diversity  of  employment,  and  the 
consequent  practical  versatility  of  his  talents,  will  enable  him 

(c)  Technical  Education.     By  Geo.  Woods,  L,L,.D.,  Pittsburg,  1874. 


106  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

to  secure  the  essentials  of  life  in  a  few  hours,  and  that  he  can 
swell  his  income  by  artistic  employment  upon  articles  which 
may  now  be  denied  him. 

The  inevitable  result,  it  seems  to  me  to  be,  is,  that  while  we 
shall  always  have  the  unfortunate  with  us,  made  so  from  a 
variety  of  causes,  all  this  will  be  palliated  to  a  large  degree  by 
the  capacity  to  use  inventions  to  not  only  employ  one's  time, 
when  enfeebled,  upon  profitable  work,  but  also  to  bring  with 
such  employment  corresponding  joy. 

The  common  man  has  learned  furthermore,  or  he  will  learn, 
that  the  sacredness  of  private  property  lies  in  the  fundamental 
principle  or  interest  of  self-preservation — in  fact,  that  private 
property  finds  its  institution  in  this  instinct ;  for  property  is 
the  means  by  which  not  only  is  self  preserved,  but  by  which 
species  may  be  perpetuated.  His  experience  with  inventions 
teaches  him  this,  and  that  from  a  rude  instrument  of  toil  he 
has  become  an  intelligent  exponent  of  hidden  laws  ;  that  he  is 
not  simply  an  animal,  wanting  an  animal's  contentment,  but 
that  he  is  something  more,  and  wants  the  contentment  which 
belongs  to  the  best  environments.  To  accomplish  these  things 
it  is  desirable  to  increase  his  ability  to  consume,  and  this  is 
done  by  improving  his  physical  and  moral  conditions.  So  the 
nearer  we  get  to  the  point  where  a  man  shall  have  control  of 
mechanical  powers,  thereby  simplifying  muscular  motions,  the 
quicker  will  his  physical  condition  be  improved — not  his  mere 
muscular  strength  developed,  but  his  sound  physical  condi- 
tion— for  the  higher  will  be  the  efficiency  of  his  mere  muscular 
labor,  and  it  is  certainly  true  that  the  higher  physical  condition 
begets  the  better  moral  condition. 

Every  machine  that  is  invented  marks  some  progress  in  a 
useful  art ;  it  accomplishes  some  useful  end  not  before  attained, 
or  it  does  some  old  work  better  and  cheaper.  It  makes  more 
valuable  the  day's  work  of  an  operative.  * '  The  man  who  rides 
the  mowing  machine  all  day  should  get  more  than  the  man 
who  swings  the  scythe,  and  the  weaver  in  the  cotton  mill 
should  get  more  than  a  weaver  at  a  hand  loom,  partly  because 
labor  is  a  unit  as  well  as  capital,  partly  because  some  machinery 
must  be  very  skillfully,  and  all  of  it  very  carefully,  used,  and 
partly  because  so  much  more  grass  is  cut  and  so  much  more 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  107 

cloth  is  made.  The  advantage  of  machinery  should  not  belong 
exclusively  to  capital, ' '  and  civilization  must  see  to  it  that  the 
advantages  of  inventions  are  equitably  adjusted. 

The  argument  that  the  use  of  machinery  brings  into  indus- 
trial work  an  ignorant  class  of  workers  is  often  made  by  men 
who  see  in  machinery  the  arch  enemy  of  the  mechanic.  The 
argument  is  entirely  baseless.  There  is  no  more  ignorance  in 
the  world  on  account  of  inventions,  but  by  their  perfections  an 
ignorant  class  can  often  do  perfectly  what  an  intelligent  class 
used  to  bungle  over,  and  at  the  same  time  the  intelligence  of 
the  ignorant  is  raised.  The  ignorant  laborer  of  to-day  is,  in 
all  that  makes  up  condition,  more  than  the  peer  of  the  skilled 
workman  of  a  few  generations  ago ;  and  the  fact  that  as  the 
country  increases  in  wealth,  the  numbers  employed  in  miscel- 
laneous industries  and  what  Mr.  Wells  calls  incorporeal  func- 
tions ;  that  is,  artists,  teachers,  and  others  who  minister  to 
taste  and  comfort  in  a  way  that  can  hardly  be  called  material, 
increase  disproportionately  to  those  engaged  in  the  production 
of  the  great  staples,  answers  the  idea  that  inventions  foster 
ignorance  in  production.  Inventions  have,  indeed,  superin- 
duced the  congregation  of  ignorant  laborers,  and  thereby  given 
the  appearance  of  creating  ignorant  labor. 

Phillips  Bevan,  of  England,  writing  in  1877  of  the  industrial 
classes  of  his  country,  remarked  that  "few  people  are  aware 
of  the  immense  development  of  the  last  twenty-five  years  found 
in  the  condition  for  the  better  of  English  operatives  especially, 
whether  in  a  monetary,  social,  educational,  sanitary  or  legisla- 
tive light.  It  is  very  doubtful  whether  the  bulk  of  workingmen 
themselves  take  heed  of  the  strides  they  have  made,  or  of  how 
little  they  have  to  lament  that  the  '  good  old  times '  are  past 
and  gone  ; ' '  and  Mr.  Bevan  might  have  added  that  in  most  of 
the  directions  named  by  him  invention  had  been  the  cause,  for 
it  was  not  until  the  factory  system  was  thoroughly  fixed  as  the 
industrial  system  of  England  that  the  Parliament  of  England 
began  to  make  changes  looking  to  the  education  of  the  masses. 

What  a  commentary  is  this  hardly  won  development  upon 
the  fantastical  and  pernicious  sentiment  with  which  the  pessi- 
mistic philosopher  calls  up  ages  and  conditions  from  which  it  is 
the  greatest  of  blessings  that  we  have  been  wholly  delivered. 


io8  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

In  art  directions  the  development  has  been  as  great  as  in  the 
purely  mechanical  field,  for,  by  the  aid  of  mechanical  powers, 
the  work  of  our  artisans  is  rapidly  making  the  taste  of  the 
people  artistic,  for  trained  and  inventive  skill,  as  exhibited  in 
machinery,  puts  art  into  wood  and  metal,  showing  ' '  the  high- 
est discipline  of  the  mental  faculties,  the  direction  and  the 
subordination  of  all  its  manifestations  for  some  clearly-defined 
purpose."  Every  step  marks  some  progress  in  industrial  art. 
The  stove  manufacturer,  in  order  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
common  people,  in  the  production  of  his  goods  must  secure 
the  services  of  an  artist,  that  the  design  of  the  kitchen  or  the 
parlor  stove  shall  not  offend  the  artistic  eye. 

The  ethical  influence  of  the  more  modern  system  has  been 
marked  indeed,  and  especially  in  our  own  country,  for  the 
American  workman  demands,  as  a  necessity,  the  culture  to  be 
gained  by  reading,  music,  and  the  lyceum,  and  from  his  moral 
and  educational  standpoint  he  participates  in  the  government, 
and  has  raised  from  his  ranks  some  of  our  very  best  and  most 
revered  Chief  Magistrates,  State  and  National ;  and  he  will 
demand  in  the  future  general  admission  to  the  ranks  of  the 
aristocracy  of  mind,  where  his  name  even  now  occupies  so 
bright  a  place. 

The  development  resulting  from  the  influence  of  inventions 
has  reached  the  economic  side  of  industry,  and  this  economic 
side,  as  it  is  better  understood  by  our  workingmen,  will  bring 
about  truer  and  happier  industrial  relations.  At  present  the 
manufacturing  world  is  often  disturbed  by  a  succession  of 
strikes  and  labor  controversies.  Do  not,  I  beg  you,  make  the 
mistake  of  assigning  the  cause  of  such  strikes  and  contro- 
versies to  retrogression,  or  to  supposed  increasing  antagonism, 
or  to  any  anarchistic  desire  to  destroy  or  in  any  way  abridge 
the  grand  results  of  the  past  developments.  On  the  other 
hand,  think  for  a  moment  that  the  man  who  works  for  wages 
has  been  taught  to  realize  the  conditions  of  a  higher  civiliza- 
tion ;  has  been  taught  to  appreciate,  understand  and  desire 
still  greater  mental,  moral  and  social  progress.  He  has  been 
taught,  and  through  invention  enabled,  to  enjoy  art  and 
music  and  literature,  to  understand  that  he  is  one  of  the 
sovereigns  of  the  land,  that  he  is  a  political  and  a  moral  factor  ; 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  109 

and  with  all  this  he  finds  he  still  keeps  the  position  of  a  wage 
receiver  in  enterprises  in  which  his  skill,  as  well  as  his  hand, 
is  a  necessity.  The  honest  and  the  intelligent  workman,  so 
far  as  he  is  engaged  in  the  controversies  of  the  day,  is  the 
conservator  of  all  the  required  forces  of  industry,  but  he  seeks 
in  this  conversation  to  become  more  closely  allied  to  the  factor 
of  capital,  which  without  him  is  dead  material.  He  begins  to 
see  that  while  he  has  outgrown,  through  the  aid  of  inventions, 
the  purely  physiological  relation  which  labor  bears  to  produc- 
tion ;  that  is,  the  position  of  the  animal,  he  now  furnishes  the 
developed  mental  qualities  of  the  man,  and,  seeing  this,  he 
sees  that  he  vitalizes  the  material  side  of  production,  which  is 
capital.  He  therefore  asks  that  he  may  become  more  closely 
associated  with  capital  in  the  great  productive  enterprises  of 
the  day,  and  also  secure  a  more  just  share  of  the  benefits 
arising  from  the  use  of  machinery  than  now  falls  to  him. 
How  a  new  system  shall  be  established,  with  perfect  justice  to 
capital  and  to  labor,  recognizing  the  moral  forces  at  work 
contemporaneously  with  the  industrial,  is  the  problem  of  the 
age.  I  feel  so  sure  that  this  problem  will  be  solved  on  the 
broadest  business  basis  through  the  practical  application  of 
the  moral  principles  of  cooperative  work  that  I  have  little 
anxiety  for  the  industrial  future  of  the  country.  I  know  no 
one  element  can  come  in  as  a  panacea  for  ills,  but  I  feel 
morally  certain  that  a  combination  of  elements  can  be  so 
applied,  and  will  be  so  applied,  as  to  relieve  industry  of  the 
present  apparent  warfare.  Progress  has  been  so  rapid  that  we 
fail  to  see  the  intelligence  underlying  the  industrial  contro- 
versies. Ignorance,  selfishness  and,  maybe,  dishonesty  are 
all  interwoven  with  intelligence,  and  sometimes  so  closely  that 
it  seems  as  if  the  unhappy  conditions  subordinated  those  of 
intelligence,  and  this  leads  many  to  think  that  mechanical 
development  has  reached  such  a  point  that  it  is  safe,  and  they 
have  the  courage  to  declare  that  we  have  arrived  at  the  end  of 
the  regime  of  machinery ;  so,  indeed,  we  have,  but  it  is  the 
first  end,  and  not  the  end  they  would  have  it,  which  to  them 
means  retrogression.  The  development  must  go  on.  The 
future  of  the  achievements  of  inventive  genius  in  the  mechani- 
cal, chemical,  and  other  sciences  is  bright  indeed,  and  holds 


no  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

out  to  humanity  its  best  boons  and  most  munificent  endow- 
ments, not  only  in  moral  and  industrial  directions,  but  in  a 
better,  and  a  greater,  and  a  more  equal  diffusion  of  wealth, 
and  all  that  wealth  means.  Machinery  is  young  ;  in  fact,  is 
only  the  forerunner  of  great  undiscovered  wonders  which  will 
make  the  inventions  of  the  past  seem  like  toys  thrown  away 
as  childhood  steps  into  manliness  through  growth,  through 
strength,  and  through  perfection,  which  in  itself  is  weakness 
as  compared  with  the  perfection  of  the  invisible  power,  the 
manifestation  of  whose  presence  constantly  reminds  us  that 
the  future  holds  the  golden  age,  and  not  the  past. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  in 


A  CENTURY  OF  PATENT  LAW. 

BY  HON.  SAMUEI,  BI,ATCHFORD,  ASSOCIATE  JUSTICE  OF  THE 
SUPREME  COURT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


I  have  been  requested  by  the  committee  which  has  charge 
of  the  ceremonies  of  this  celebration  of  the  beginning  of  the 
second  century  of  the  American  patent  system,  to  address  you 
on  the  subject  of  "A  Century  of  Patent  Law." 

As  we  derive  the  principles  of  our  statutory  and  administra- 
tive patent  law  from  England,  it  seems  proper  to  regard  the 
subject  as  covering  English  patent  law,  to  a  certain  extent. 

Prior  to  the  English  statute  of  21  James  I,  chapter  3,  passed 
in  1623,  entitled  "An  act  concerning  monopolies  and  dispensa- 
tions with  penal  laws  and  the  forfeiture  thereof, ' '  commonly 
called  "the  Statute  of  Monopolies,"  it  was  customary  for  the 
King,  by  virtue  of  his  prerogative,  to  grant  exclusive  privi- 
leges or  monopolies  to  individuals  according  to  his  pleasure, 
and  not  because  of  any  invention  or  discovery  which  the  indi- 
vidual had  made,  or  had  been  the  first  to  introduce  into  the 
kingdom.  To  such  an  extent  was  this  carried,  that  Edward 
III  granted  to  two  persons  a  patent  of  privilege  for  the  sole 
making  of  "the  Philosopher's  Stone;"  and,  by  subsequent 
sovereigns,  patents  were  granted  for  the  sole  manufacture  of 
playing  cards,  and  for  an  exclusive  right  to  sell  various 
necessaries  of  life. 

By  the  Statute  of  Monopolies,  all  monopolies  were  abolished 
as  contrary  to  law,  excepting  grants  to  the  first  inventor  of 
any  manner  of  new  manufacture,  of  the  sole  privilege  of  work- 
ing or  making  the  same.  The  statute  did  not  bring  such 
grants  into  existence,  but  excepted  them  out  of  the  grants  of 
monopolies,  and  left  them  to  depend  upon  the  common  law  for 
their  legality. 

James  I,  in  1610,  had  made  a  public  declaration  that  all 
grants  of  monopolies  and  of  the  benefit  of  any  penal  laws,  or 


H2  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

of  power  to  dispense  with  the  law,  or  to  compound  for  the  for- 
feiture, were  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  kingdom,  and  had 
commanded  that  no  suitor  should  presume  to  move  the  King 
for  matters  of  that  nature. 

Section  i  of  the  Statute  of  Monopolies  declared  that  all 
monopolies  theretofore  granted,  or  thereafter  to  be  granted, 
for  the  sole  making  or  using  of  anything  should  be  void.  Sec- 
tion 6  of  the  act  provided  that  the  inhibition  should  not  extend 
to  a  patent  of  privilege  ' '  of  the  sole  working  or  making  of  any 
manner  of  new  manufactures  within  this  realm  to  the  true  and 
first  inventor"  thereof,  which  others  at  the  time  of  making 
the  grant  ' '  shall  not  use,  so  as  also  they  be  not  contrary  to 
the  law,  nor  mischievous  to  the  State,  by  raising  prices  of 
commodities  at  home,  or  hurt  of  trade,  or  generally  incon- 
venient, ' '  their  duration  to  be  for  twenty-one  years  from  their 
date,  in  respect  to  patents  theretofore  granted  for  more  than 
twenty-one  years,  and  to  be  for  fourteen  years  or  under  in 
respect  to  patents  thereafter  to  be  granted. 

For  many  years  after  the  passing  of  this  statute,  the  arts  and 
manufactures  continued  in  a  low  state  in  England,  and  few  of 
the  inventions  patented  were  of  any  value.  Until  the  reign 
of  George  III,  the  law  reports  are  almost  entirely  silent  re- 
specting patent  privileges ;  and  almost  the  only  case  reported 
during  that  period  is  that  of  Edgeberry  and  Stephens  (2  Salkeld, 
447),  where  it  was  held,  construing  the  statute  of  21  James  I, 
that  ' '  if  the  invention  be  new  in  England  a  patent  may  be 
granted,  though  the  thing  was  practiced  beyond  the  sea  before ; 
for  the  statute  speaks  of  new  manufactures  within  this  realm, 
so  that  if  they  be  new  here  it  is  within  the  statute  ;  for  the  act 
intended  to  encourage  new  devices  useful  to  the  kingdom,  and 
whether  learned  by  travel  or  by  study  it  is  the  same  thing." 

Since  that  decision  it  has  been  the  uniform  practice  in  Eng- 
land to  grant  letters  patent  to  a  person  who  introduces  an 
invention  not  used  before  within  the  kingdom  ;  and  Parlia- 
ment has  repeatedly  recognized  the  principle,  by  granting 
exclusive  privileges  to  such  introducers. 

The  first  case  of  importance  respecting  a  patent  was  an 
action  of  scire  facias  brought  against  Sir  Richard  Arkwright 
(The  King  v.  Arkwright,  i  Webster,  60)  to  repeal  his  patent 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  113 

for  an  invention  of  a  machine  for  preparing  material  for  spin- 
ning, which  action  was  tried  in  June,  1785. 

About  ten  years  afterwards  the  important  cases  of  Boulton 
and  Watt  v.  Bull  (2  Hen.  Black,  463)  and  Hornblower  v. 
Boulton  and  Watt  (8  Term  R. ,  95)  in  regard  to  the  great  in- 
vention of  James  Watt  in  steam  engines  were  tried,  in  which 
the  patent  law  was  much  discussed  and  many  of  its  difficulties 
and  obscurities  were  cleared  away.  In  the  second  of  the 
above  cases  the  patent  granted  to  Watt  in  1769  was  held  by 
the  Court  of  King's  Bench  to  be  valid.  Since  that  time  the 
issue  of  patents  for  inventions  has  increased  steadily,  the  inter- 
ests involved  in  them  have  assumed  immeasurable  importance 
and  magnitude,  and  the  principles  of  law  applicable  to  them 
have  been  developed  and  applied  by  judicial  decisions  of  the 
highest  value. 

A  few  words  may  be  added  in  regard  to  the  invention  of 
James  Watt,  which  substantially  created  the  steam  engine  and 
gave  to  it  that  usefulness  and  efficiency,  the  further  develop- 
ment of  which  has  revolutionized  the  trade  and  manufactures 
of  the  world.  Watt  was  a  Scotchman.  He  was  born  in  1736 
and  died  in  1819.  He  learned  the  business  of  a  philosophical 
instrument  maker  in  London,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-one 
became  mathematical  instrument  maker  to  the  University  of 
Glasgow.  At  that  time  the  most  advanced  type  of  steam 
engine  was  that  of  Newcomen,  which  was  applied  only  to  the 
pumping  of  water  for  draining  mines ;  but  it  was  so  clumsy 
and  wasteful  of  fuel  that  it  was  very  little  used.  In  1764, 
Watt's  attention  was  particularly  directed  to  it.  In  New- 
comen's  engine  the  cylinder  had  a  vertical  position  under  one 
end  of  the  beam,  and  was  open  at  the  top.  Steam  at  a  pressure 
scarcely  greater  than  that  of  the  atmosphere  was  admitted  at 
the  lower  end  of  the  cylinder,  under  the  piston,  and  the  piston 
was  pulled  up  by  a  counterpoise  at  the  other  end  of  the  beam. 
Communication  with  the  boiler  was  then  shut  off,  and  the 
steam  in  the  cylinder  was  condensed  by  injecting  a  jet  of  cold 
water.  The  pressure  of  the  air  on  top  of  the  piston  then  forced 
it  down,  and  the  counterpoise  was  raised ;  and  the  injection 
water  and  condensed  steam  were  drawn  out  of  the  cylinder  by 
a  pipe. 


U4  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

The  observation  of  Watt  was,  that  the  alternate  heating  and 
cooling  of  the  cylinder  caused  the  engine  to  work  slowly  and 
with  an  excessive  consumption  of  steam.  The  metal  having 
been  chilled  by  contact  with  the  condensed  steam  and  the  cold 
injection  water,  it  required  the  use  of  a  large  quantity  of  steam 
to  heat  the  chilled  surfaces  before  the  cylinder  could  be  filled 
and  the  piston  rise  again.  As  in  almost  all  efficient  mechanical 
operations,  there  had  to  be  a  reconciliation  of  antagonisms  ; 
and,  as  in  almost  all  important  inventions,  the  genius  was 
invested  in  first  recognizing  the  existence  of  the  antagonisms, 
and  in  then  devising  a  method  of  reconciliation.  Watt  saw 
that  the  temperature  of  the  condensed  steam  ought  to  be  as  low 
as  possible,  or  the  vacuum  would  not  be  good,  and,  to  use  his 
own  words,  ' '  that  the  cylinder  should  be  always  as  hot  as  the 
steam  which  entered  it."  In  1765  the  idea  occurred  to  him 
that  if  the  steam  were  to  be  condensed  in  a  vessel  distinct  from 
the  cylinder,  it  would  be  practicable  to  obtain  a  low  tempera- 
ture of  condensation,  and  still  keep  up  the  temperature  of 
the  cylinder.  For  that  purpose,  he  provided  a  separate  vessel 
into  which  the  steam  from  the  cylinder  entered,  which  vessel 
was  to  be  kept  cold  either  by  injecting  cold  water  into  it  or 
by  letting  cold  water  fall  over  the  outside  of  it,  and  so  a 
vacuum  could  be  maintained  in  a  separate  vessel.  Thus 
the  steam  which  passed  over  from  the  cylinder  would  be  con- 
densed, the  pressure  in  the  cylinder  would  be  as  low  as  the 
pressure  in  the  condenser,  and  the  temperature  of  the  metal  of 
the  cylinder  and  piston  would  be  kept  up,  since  no  cold  injec- 
tion water  would  come  in  contact  with  them.  On  putting  the 
apparatus  to  a  test,  it  operated  as  was  expected  ;  and,  to  main- 
tain the  vacuum  in  the  separate  condenser,  Watt  added  an 
air-pump  to  remove  the  condensed  steam  and  injection  water, 
with  any  air  that  might  gather  in  the  condenser. 

He  added  several  subsidiary  inventions,  such  as  more  tightly 
packing  the  piston ;  closing  the  upper  end  of  the  cylinder ; 
enclosing  the  piston  with  a  steam-tight  stuffing-box  on  top  of 
the  cylinder  ;  causing  steam  instead  of  air  to  press  on  top  of 
the  piston  ;  casing  the  cylinder  in  a  non-conducting  material ; 
and  introducing  a  steam-jacket  between  the  cylinder  and  an 
outer  shell.  All  these  features  were  specified  in  his  first 
patent,  which  was  obtained  in  January,  1769. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  115 

By  an  act  of  Parliament,  passed  in  1775,  that  patent  was 
continued  for  twenty-five  years,  and  Watt,  in  connection  with 
Matthew  Boulton,  who  owned  some  engineering  works  at  Bir- 
mingham, entered  upon  the  manufacture  of  steam  engines.  At 
first  the  only  application  of  the  engine  was  to  pumping  water 
from  mines,  but  Watt  soon  made  other  inventions  to  fit  the 
engine  for  other  uses,  and  took  out  further  patents  in  1781, 
1782  and  1784.  These  inventions  covered  the  method  of  con- 
verting the  reciprocating  motion  of  the  piston  into  a  rotary 
motion,  so  that  ordinary  machinery  could  be  driven  ;  making 
the  engine  double-acting  by  putting  both  ends  of  the  cylinder 
in  communication,  alternately,  with  the  boiler  and  the  con- 
denser instead  of  only  one  end ;  introducing  the  system  of 
the  expansive  working  of  the  steam,  instead  of  admitting  it 
through  the  whole  stroke  of  the  piston  ;  and  the  well-known 
parallel  motion. 

Watt's  principal  patent  was  sustained  by  the  courts  of  Eng- 
land, and  he  enjoyed  the  fruits  of  it  until  it  expired  in  the  year 
1800.  To  his  great  invention  we  owe  the  development  of  the 
steam  engine  as  used  now  for  traffic  and  transportation  by 
water  and  land  ;  for,  without  it,  there  could  be  no  practical  or 
efficient  steam  engine. 

The  statutes  which  now  regulate  the  granting  of  patents  in 
England  are  those  of  August  25,  1883,  (46  &  47  Viet.  ch.  57), 
and  December  24,  1888,  (51  &  52  Viet.  ch.  50).  It  is  not 
necessary  that  a  person  should  be  a  British  subject  to  apply 
for  a  patent.  The  application  must  state  that  the  applicant  is 
in  possession  of  an  invention,  of  which  he  claims  to  be  the  true 
and  first  inventor.  The  word  ' '  inventor ' '  in  these  statutes 
covers  an  introducer.  It  is  declared  by  the  act  of  1883  that 
the  word  "invention"  means  "any  manner  of  new  manu- 
facture, the  subject  of  letters-patent  and  grant  of  privilege," 
within  section  6  of  the  act  of  21  James  I,  chapter  3,  and 
includes  an  alleged  invention.  There  must  be  either  a  pro- 
visional or  a  complete  specification.  If  there  is  only  a  pro- 
visional specification,  there  must  be  a  complete  specification 
within  nine  months  after  the  application.  There  is  a  limited 
examination,  which  extends  only  to  an  inquiry  whether  the 
nature  of  the  invention  has  been  fairly,  described,  and  whether 

"x^\ 


Ii6  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

the  application,  specification,  and  drawings,  if  any,  are  in  due 
form,  and  whether  the  title  sufficiently  indicates  the  subject- 
matter  of  the  invention.  The  acceptance  of  the  complete 
specification  is  to  be  advertised,  and  any  person  may,  within 
two  months  thereafter,  give  notice  at  the  Patent  Office  that  he 
opposes  the  grant  of  the  patent  on  the  ground  that  the  appli- 
cant obtained  the  invention  from  him  or  from  a  person  of 
whom  he  is  the  legal  representative,  or  on  the  ground  that  the 
invention  was  patented  in  Bngland  on  an  application  of  prior 
date,  or  on  the  ground  that  the  complete  specification  describes 
or  claims  an  invention  other  than  that  described  in  the  pro- 
visional specification,  and  that  such  other  invention  forms  the 
subject  of  an  application  made  by  the  opponent  in  the  interval 
between  the  making  of  the  two  specifications.  The  patent  is 
to  be  granted  for  fourteen  years,  but  is  to  cease  if  certain  fees 
are  not  paid  within  specified  times.  Disclaimers  and  amend- 
ments of  specifications  are  provided  for,  but  no  amendment  is 
allowable  which  would  make  the  specification,  as  amended, 
claim  an  invention  substantially  larger  than,  or  substantially 
different  from,  the  invention  claimed  by  the  specification  as  it 
stood  before  amendment.  At  least  six  months  before  the  time 
limited  for  the  expiration  of  the  patent,  the  patentee  may  apply 
for  an  extension,  which  may  be  granted  on  a  favorable  report 
from  the  judicial  committee  of  the  Privy  Council,  for  a  further 
term  not  exceeding  seven,  or,  in  exceptional  cases,  fourteen 
years ;  and  a  patent  may  be  vacated  by  a  court  on  certain 
specified  grounds. 

L,et  us  pass  now  to  the  patent  statutes  of  the  United  States. 

The  Constitution,  in  article  i,  section  8,  declares  that  the 
Congress  shall  have  power  to  promote  the  progress  of  science 
and  useful  arts  by  securing,  for  limited  times,  to  inventors  the 
exclusive  right  to  their  discoveries. 

The  first  act  of  Congress  on  the  subject  was  that  of  April 
•io,  1790,  entitled  "An  act  to  promote  the  progress  of  useful 
arts."  This  provided  for  the  granting  of  a  patent  to  the 
inventor  or  discoverer  of  any  ' '  useful  art,  manufacture,  engine, 
machine,  or  device,  or  any  improvement  therein,  not  before 
known  or  used."  A  written  specification,  with  drawings,  and, 
if  admissible,  a  model,  was  required.  No  examination  as  to 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS.  117 

the  novelty  of  the  invention  was  provided  for.  On  an  appli- 
cation made  to  a  judge  of  a  District  Court  within  one  year 
after  the  grant  of  a  patent,  if  it  was  obtained  surreptitiously  or 
upon  false  suggestion,  or  if  it  should  appear  that  the  patentee 
was  not  the  first  or  true  inventor  or  discoverer,  the  judge 
might  repeal  the  patent. 

Further  acts  in  regard  to  patents  were  passed  in  1793,  1794, 
1800,  and  1832. 

On  July  4,  1836,  an  act  was  passed  reorganizing  the  patent 
system  and  repealing  all  prior  acts.  By  that  act  patents 
were  to  be  granted  for  fourteen  years,  with  the  privilege  of  an 
extension  by  the  Commissioner,  in  a  proper  case,  for  seven 
years  more.  It  was  required  that  the  applicant  should  have 
discovered  or  invented  a  new  and  useful  art,  machine,  manufac- 
ture, or  composition  of  matter,  or  a  new  and  useful  improve- 
ment thereon,  not  known  or  used  by  others  before  his  discovery 
or  invention,  and  not,  at  the  time  of  the  application,  in  public 
use  or  on  sale,  with  his  consent  or  allowance,  as  the  inventor 
or  discoverer.  He  was  required  to  deliver  a  written  descrip- 
tion of  his  invention  or  discovery,  and  of  the  manner  and 
process  of  making,  constructing,  using,  and  compounding  the 
same,  in  such  full,  clear,  and  exact  terms,  avoiding  unnecessary 
prolixity,  as  to  enable  any  person  skilled  in  the  art  or  science 
to  which  it  appertained,  or  with  which  it  was  most  nearly 
connected,  to  make,  construct,  compound,  and  use  the  same ; 
and,  in  case  of  a  machine,  to  explain  fully  the  principle  and 
the  several  modes  in  which  he  had  contemplated  the  applica- 
tion of  that  principle  or  character  by  which  it  might  be 
distinguished  from  other  inventions ;  and  particularly  to 
specify  and  point  out  the  part,  improvement,  or  combination, 
which  he  claimed  as  his  own  invention  or  discovery.  Drawings 
were  provided  for,  and  specimens  of  ingredients  of  a  composi- 
tion of  matter,  and  a  model  of  machinery,  where  admissible. 
A  system  of  examination  was  instituted,  and  the  patent  was 
to  issue  if  it  should  not  appear  to  the  Commissioner  that  the 
alleged  invention  or  discovery  had  been  invented  or  discovered 
by  any  other  person  in  this  country,  prior  to  the  alleged  inven- 
tion or  discovery  by  the  applicant,  or  that  it  had  been  patented, 
or  described  in  any  printed  publication,  in  this  or  any  foreign 


n8  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

country,  or  had  been  in  public  use  or  on  sale  with  the  appli- 
cant's consent  or  allowance,  prior  to  the  application,  and  if  the 
Commissioner  should  deem  it  to  be  sufficiently  useful  and 
important.  On  the  refusal  of  a  patent,  an  appeal  was  provided 
for  to  a  board  of  three  examiners.  An  interference  with  another 
pending  application,  or  with  an  unexpired  patent,  could  be 
declared  with  an  appeal  to  a  like  board.  In  case  a  patent 
should  be  inoperative  or  invalid  by  reason  of  a  defective  or 
insufficient  description  or  specification,  or  by  reason  of  the 
patentee  claiming  in  the  specification  as  his  own  invention 
more  than  he  should  have  a  right  to  claim  as  new,  if  the  error 
arose  by  inadvertency,  accident  or  mistake,  and  without  any 
fraudulent  or  deceptive  intention,  the  Commissioner,  on  the 
surrender  of  the  patent,  could  cause  a  new  patent  to  be  issued 
to  the  inventor  for  the  same  invention,  for  the  residue  of  the 
period  then  unexpired  for  which  the  original  patent  was 
granted,  in  accordance  with  the  patentee's  corrected  descrip- 
tion and  specification.  This  was  called  "a  reissue."  Pro- 
vision was  made  for  special  defenses  in  actions  for  damages  for 
infringement,  and  for  giving  to  the  plaintiff  thirty  days'  notice 
before  the  trial,  of  the  defense  of  prior  use  ;  also  for  a  remedy 
by  bill  in  equity  in  the  case  of  two  interfering  patents,  or  of 
the  refusal  to  grant  a  patent  on  the  ground  of  its  interference 
with  a  previous  unexpired  patent.  Kquity  jurisdiction  by  the 
Circuit  Courts  of  the  United  States  was  created,  with  the 
power  of  granting  injunctions  against  infringement.  An  ex- 
tension of  a  patent  for  seven  years  was  provided  for,  on  its 
appearing  that  the  patentee,  without  neglect  or  fault  on  his 
part,  had  failed  to  obtain  reasonable  remuneration. 

The  foregoing  features  of  the  patent  system  were  sub- 
stantially reenacted  in  the  act  of  July  8,  1870,  the  provisions 
of  which  are  embodied  in  the  Revised  Statutes  ;  but  by  statute 
a  patent  is  now  granted  for  only  seventeen  years,  and  no  pro- 
vision is  made  for  an  extension. 

In  the  administration  of  the  patent  laws  by  the  courts  of  the 
United  States,  the  proper  rights  of  inventors  have  been  firmly 
maintained,  while  the  abuses  which  crept  in,  in  consequence  of 
improper  reissues  of  patents,  have  been  corrected.  Patents 
for  important  and  meritorious  inventions  have  been  sustained, 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS.  119 

notably  in  the  case  of  Morse's  telegraph,  which  was  held  valid 
in  the  case  of  O'Reilly  v.  Morse,  (15  Howard,  62),  the  opinion 
being  delivered  by  Chief  Justice  Taney. 

Samuel  F.  B.  Morse  was  a  historical  painter,  and  had  gone 
to  Europe  in  1829  to  perfect  himself  in  his  art.  In  October, 
1832,  on  board  the  packet-ship  "  Sully,"  on  her  passage  from 
Havre,  in  France,  to  New  York,  he  conceived  the  invention 
which  he  afterward  patented.  Before  he  landed  in  the  United 
States  he  sketched  the  form  of  an  instrument  for  an  electro- 
magnetic telegraph,  and  arranged  and  noted  down  a  system  of 
signs,  composed  of  a  combination  of  dots  and  spaces  to  repre- 
sent figures,  which  were  to  indicate  words  to  be  found  in  a 
telegraphic  dictionary,  where  each  word  was  to  have  its 
number.  He  also  conceived  and  drew  out  the  mode  of  apply- 
ing the  electric  or  galvanic  current  so  as  to  mark  signs  by  the 
chemical  effects.  He  persevered  in  his  invention,  and  by  the 
forepart  of  the  year  1836  he  had  constructed  an  instrument 
which  marked  down  intelligibly  telegraphic  signs,  and  demon- 
strated by  actual  operation  its  capacity  to  accomplish  his 
purpose.  Further  experiments  were  made,  and  in  the  latter 
part  of  September,  1837,  a  caveat  was  drawn  up  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing month  was  filed  in  the  Patent  Office.  In  February, 
1838,  a  new  instrument  was  exhibited  by  Professor  Morse  in 
the  Franklin  Institute  at  Philadelphia,  where  it  operated  with 
success  through  a  circuit  of  ten  miles  of  wire  ;  and  a  committee 
of  the  Institute  made  a  report  of  its  success.  It  was  then  re- 
moved to  the  city  of  Washington,  and  publicly  exhibited  in 
the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  On  the  3d  of  March, 
1843,  Congress  appropriated  $30,000  to  test  the  capacity  and 
usefulness  of  the  telegraph  by  constructing  a  line,  under  the 
superintendence  of  Professor  Morse,  between  the  cities  of 
Washington  and  Baltimore,  which  was  done  in  the  year  1844. 
The  United  States  patent  having  been  granted  to  him  on  June 
20,  1840,  it  was  reissued  in  January,  1846,  and  came  before 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  at  its  December  term, 
1853.  It  was  sustained  after  a  vigorous  opposition. 

The  principle  on  which  the  patent  laws  are  based  is  to  give 
an  inventor  an  exclusive  right,  for  a  limited  time,  in  considera- 
tion of  his  fully  disclosing  his  invention,  so  that  it  may  be 


120  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

made  and  used  by  the  public  after  the  limited  term  shall  have 
expired.  Under  this  stimulus  there  has  come  into  existence 
the  briliant  succession  of  inventions  which  have  contributed  so 
greatly  to  the  progress  of  science  and  the  arts,  and  to  the 
material  welfare  of  nations  and  individuals.  In  this  career  our 
own  country  has  played  no  small  part,  and  it  is  quite  certain 
that  in  the  future  American  inventors  will  do  their  full  share 
toward  illustrating  the  beneficent  operation  of  the  patent  laws, 
and  that  when,  a  hundred  years  hence,  there  shall  be  another 
centennial  celebration  like  the  one  through  which  we  are  now 
passing,  there  will  have  occurred  no  diminution  of  the  im- 
portance and  value  of  American  inventions. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  121 


THE  EPOCH-MAKING  INVENTIONS  OF  AMERICA. 
BY  HON.  ROBERT  S.  TAYLOR,  OF  INDIANA. 


The  real  and  enduring  wealth  of  the  world  is  its  thoughts. 
It  is  the  capacity  to  originate,  communicate  and  preserve 
thoughts  that  makes  civilization  possible. 

Some  great  thoughts  are  like  jewels — precious  for  their 
beauty  ;  some  are  like  seeds — precious  for  their  fruits  ;  some 
are  like  mines — yielding  treasures  of  wealth  to  the  world  long 
after  their  discovery. 

It  is  with  the  thoughts  of  the  inventor  that  we  have  to  do 
to-day,  and  with  those  productions  of  his  thought  which  are  of 
such  scope  and  character  that  they  can  fitly  be  called  epoch- 
making  inventions.  That  phrase  was  itself  a  happy  invention 
on  the  part  of  the  committee  —  vividly  descriptive  of  those 
creations  of  the  inventor's  brain  which  enter  so  widely  and 
intimately  into  the  lives  of  men  and  the  course  of  events  that 
they  divide  history  into  epochs. 

It  would  matter  little  to  the  world  that  one  man  went  bare- 
foot all  the  year.  But  if  all  the  world  had  been  going  barefoot 
and  one  tender-footed  man  should  invent  shoes,  and  all  other 
men,  seeing  how  comfortable  they  were,  should  take  to  wearing 
them,  the  race  would  enter  upon  a  new  epoch  in  its  history,  for 
which  it  wrould  owe  thanks  to  the  inventive  thought  of  one  man. 

The  sum  of  human  happiness  is  made  up  of  little  things  af- 
fecting the  life  of  individuals.  All  existence  is  an  adjustment 
of  forces.  It  requires  only  a  slight  readjustment  to  produce  a 
new  existence.  It  is  estimated  that  a  fall  of  eighteen  degrees 
in  the  average  temperature  upon  the  earth's  surface  would 
bring  on  a  glacial  period.  The  addition  of  one  daily  comfort, 
the  taking  away  of  one  item  of  daily  drudgery,  is  enough  to 
give  a  new  complexion  to  life.  To  do  that  for  all  men  in  one 
particular  is  to  make  an  epoch. 


122  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

It  wants  now  just  a  year  of  a  century  since  there  flashed 
across  the  mind  of  a  young  Georgia  school  teacher  the  thought 
that  a  machine  could  be  made  which  would  separate  the  cotton 
fibre  from  the  seed  by  the  action  of  saw  teeth.  I  do  not  know 
that  the  circumstances  which  attended  the  birth  of  this  idea  in 
the  brain  of  Kli  Whitney  have  been  preserved.  It  would  be 
of  dramatic  interest  to  know,  if  we  could,  in  what  wakeful 
hour  of  night,  or  receptive  mood  of  day,  there  came  into  the 
mind  of  one  man  the  revelation  of  a  thought  so  simple  in 
itself,  and  yet  so  big  with  blessing  to  the  world.  If  he  could 
have  foreseen  at  that  moment  in  one  prophetic  glance  all  the 
consequences  that  would  flow  from  it,  he  would  have  fallen 
down  and  turned  his  face  away  from  the  brightness  of  his  own 
invention,  as  Moses  turned  his  face  from  the  glory  of  the  L,ord 
in  the  holy  mountain.  It  was  the  beginning  of  the  epoch  of 
cheap  cotton  cloth.  It  was  a  distinct  step  in  the  evolution  of 
the  race.  It  marked  an  advance  in  industry,  trade,  comfort, 
health  and  morals.  It  touched  the  whole  world  like  a  new 
element  in  sunshine. 

Forty-six  years  later  KHas  Howe  patented  his  sewing 
machine.  It  would  be  foreign  to  my  topic  to  discuss  the 
claims  of  rival  inventors,  and  I  take  Mr.  Howe  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  group  of  inventors,  who,  in  quick  succession, 
brought  out  the  various  inventions  which  have  emancipated 
human  fingers  from  the  most  monotonous,  wearisome  and 
slavish  of  all  forms  of  labor.  It  is  too  soon  yet  to  estimate 
the  full  effect  of  the  sewing  machine  upon  human  life  and 
destiny.  It  ushered  in  an  epoch  of  cheap  clothes,  which 
means  better  clothes  for  the  masses — more  warmth,  more 
cleanliness,  more  comfort.  It  is  entirely  true  to  say  that  the 
cotton  gin  and  the  sewing  machine  together  have  given  the 
human  body  an  improved  skin.  But  the  indirect  conse- 
quences of  the  invention  of  the  sewing  machine  reach  furthest 
beyond  our  ken  —  time  was  when  half  the  human  race  were 
occupied  chiefly  in  making  clothes.  When  the  machines  took 
that  avocation  away  from  them  they  turned  to  other  employ- 
ments. The  invasion  of  all  occupations  by  women,  and  the 
sweeping  changes  which  have  taken  place  in  their  relations  to 
the  law,  and  society,  and  business,  can  be  ascribed  in  large 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  123 

measure  to  the  sewing  machine.  Where  the  end  will  be  needs 
a  bold  man  to  say. 

Robert  Fulton  once  said  that  the  three  men  who  had  con- 
ferred the  greatest  good  upon  their  fellows  were  Arkwright, 
Watt  and  Whitney.  Speaking  for  the  time  when  he  lived  I 
should  be  disposed  to  name  him  as  the  fourth.  For  what  one 
other  cause  has  so  metamorphosed  life  in  all  of  its  interests — its 
business,  its  pleasures,  its  peace,  its  war,  its  society,  its  traffic — 
as  the  application  of  steam  to  transportation  and  travel  ?  It 
has  made  the  world  so  small  that  a  man  can  go  round  it  at  his 
leisure  four  times  a  year.  At  the  same  time,  measured  by 
what  we  can  see  of  it,  and  find  on  it  and  get  from  it,  steam 
travel  has  made  it  ten  times  as  large  as  it  was  to  our  fore- 
fathers. 

Whither  the  great  journey  onward  and  upward  which  the 
race  has  begun  on  its  steamboats  and  steamers  will  take  us, 
is  beyond  conjecture.  The  epoch  of  travel  has  only  begun. 
It  means  not  merely  the  running  to  and  fro  of  men,  and  inter- 
change of  commodities,  but  the  opening  of  a  training  school 
wherein  all  mankind  are  pupils.  To-day  the  armies  of  men 
who  are  making  and  managing  the  steam  machinery  used  for 
transportation  are  the  brainiest,  widest-awake  great  body  of 
men  in  the  world.  To  that  large  extent  to  which  the  business 
makes  the  man,  this  business  makes  the  best  men. 

Of  course,  the  invention  of  Fulton  was  the  barest  beginning 
of  this  great  epoch.  But  it  is  quite  true  that  as  the  Clermont 
awkwardly  steamed  her  way  up  the  Hudson  on  her  trial  trip 
the  border  of  a  new  age  came  into  view,  as  the  border  of  the 
new  continent  greeted  the  vision  of  Columbus  three  hundred 
years  before.  The  discovery  was  made.  To  enumerate  the 
inventors  who  have  developed  and  perfected  it  would  be  as 
impossible  as  to  enumerate  the  navigators  and  pioneers  who 
completed  the  conquest  of  the  New  World. 

Nor  am  I  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  the  railroad  and  its 
locomotive  are  not  conceded  to  the  American  inventor.  But 
these  are  only  an  evolution  from  their  aquatic  congener.  All 
life  begins  in  the  sea.  And  very  like  the  evolution  of  birds 
from  fishes  was  the  evolution  of  the  Chicago  Limited  from  a 
paddle-wheel  steamboat. 


124  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

To  recognize  adequately  in  this  connection  the  individual 
merits  of  inventors  in  this  great  field  is  impossible.  But  every 
one  who  has  crossed  the  sea  ought  to  pay  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  Ericsson,  and  those  of  us  who  are  here  from  distant 
homes,  remembering  how  comfortably  and  safely  we  came,  can 
afford  a  word  of  thanks  to  Pullman  and  Westinghouse. 

It  was  entirely  natural  that  in  the  progress  of  man's  con- 
quest over  the  forces  of  nature  he  should  attack  last  the 
most  mysterious,  powerful  and  uncontrollable  of  them  all — 
electricity.  And  it  must  ever  be  a  source  of  pride  to  Ameri- 
cans that  since  Franklin  drew  the  first  submissive  spark  from 
heaven  his  countrymen  have  been  foremost  in  this  great  field 
of  discovery. 

Electricity  had  had  the  faculty  of  speech  in  a  thundering 
and  unintelligible  way  long  enough  before  Professor  Morse's 
day.  But  to  him  was  reserved  the  task  of  teaching  it  to  write. 
With  the  invention  of  the  telegraph  the  world  entered  upon  a 
novel  epoch.  In  the  nature  of  things  human  progress  is  for 
the  most  part  a  course  of  improvement  in  known  processes. 
But  here  was  a  new  process.  In  this  respect  there  was  noth- 
ing preceding  to  be  compared  with  it  except  the  invention 
of  the  steam  engine.  To  the  breath  of  fire  and  muscles  of  iron 
which  that  gave  the  world,  this  added  the  nerves  of  the  body 
politic,  which  to-day  radiate  from  their  ganglionic  center*  in 
the  great  cities  to  every  part  of  the  world.  By  these  organs 
of  sensation  society  feels  the  shock  of  a  massacre  at  New 
Orleans  as  instantly  as  a  man  feels  a  burn  on  his  hand,  and  by 
the  same  channels  an  impulsive  government  calls  home  its 
minister  as  a  man  strikes  at  an  insect  which  has  stung  him. 
Next  day  the  same  messengers  convey  to  the  world  the  digni- 
fied utterances  of  a  government  so  great  and  strong  that  it  can 
afford  not  to  get  angry. 

The  revolutions  in  commerce,  which  the  telegraph  intro- 
duced, were  of  themselves  sufficient  to  mark  an  epoch  in 
history.  But  there  is  a  deeper  significance  in  the  universality 
of  information  and  action  which  it  makes  possible.  Supple- 
mented by  the  daily  newspapers,  the  telegraph  advises  the 
whole  world  every  morning  of  all  that  happened  on  the  planet 
the  day  before.  All  public  men  and  public  bodies  discharge 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  125 

their  duties  in  the  concentrated  light  of  universal  observation. 
Kvery  notable  event  is  followed  immediately  by  criticism  and 
discussion,  and  by  some  judgment  of  the  general  intelligence 
upon  the  merits  of  the  case.  And  there  is  thus  developed  a 
force  in  society — a  governing  force — which  knows  neither 
form  of  government  or  lines  of  jurisdiction,  but  which  power- 
fully affects  the  affairs  of  men.  It  is  the  force  of  enlightened, 
unified,  world-wide  public  opinion. 

In  the  production  of  the  electric  light  the  genius  of  man  has 
come  nearer  to  creation  than  in  any  other  achievement.  When 
the  Almighty  said  "  L,et  there  be  light"  and  there  was  light, 
it  was,  as  I  believe,  electric  light.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the 
light  of  the  sun  and  all  the  self-luminous  stars  is  produced  by 
electricity  transformed  by  processes  substantially  identical  with 
those  that  produce  lightning  in  our  clouds  and  arc  light  upon 
our  streets. 

This  epoch  of  artificial  sunlight  distributed  in  fragments 
has  so  recently  burst  upon  us  that  we  have  hardly  yet  recov- 
ered from  its  first  dazzling  effects.  But  we  may  be  sure  that  it 
is  the  beginning  of  an  age  of  increasing  enjoyment  for  man- 
kind. It  is  one  of  the  revolutions  that  will  not  go  backwards. 
The  human  eye  once  charmed  by  a  better  light  is  never  con- 
tent to  return  to  a  poorer. 

The  electric  light  was  the  result  of  the  work  of  a  great  many 
students  and  inventors  through  a  long  period  of  time.  I  know 
of  no  other  invention  to  which  so  many  persons  have  con- 
tributed. But  we  are  justly  proud  of  the  fact  that  in  the 
successful  practical  solution  of  the  problem,  our  countrymen, 
Charles  F.  Brush  and  Thomas  A.  Edison,  were  clearly  the 
pioneers — one  in  the  field  of  arc  lighting  and  the  other  in  the 
incandescent  light.  It  is  incredible  to  think  that  it  is  little 
more  than  a  decade  since  their  inventions  came  into  public 
use,  so  universal  have  they  become. 

When  the  Master  said  to  those  who  stood  about  Him, 
"Which  of  you  by  taking  thought  can  add  a  cubit  to  his 
stature  ?  "  no  one  held  up  his  hand.  But  Professor  Bell  by 
taking  thought  has  added,  not  a  cubit,  but  miles  to  the  length 
of  our  tongues  and  our  ears.  I  think  this  is  the  most  gratify- 
ing of  all  inventions.  I  can  make  no  personal  use  of  the 


126  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

telegraph.  I  go  about  a  dynamo  filled  with  wonder  and 
admiration,  but  mindful  not  to  become  too  familiar  with  it. 
But  to  have  in  my  house  an  instrument  which  is  ears  and 
mouth  for  everybody,  and  which  enables  me  to  hold  conversa- 
tion with  all  my  neighbors  from  my  own  back  hall,  gives  me  a 
sense  of  personal  triumph  over  the  impediments  of  matter  and 
space  every  time  I  use  it. 

Time  fails  me  to  speak  of  the  epoch  of  news  which  was 
made  possible  by  Hoe's  cylinder  press,  or  the  epoch  of  vertical 
growth  in  American  cities  which  began  with  the  Otis  elevator, 
or  the  epoch  of  farming  by  machinery  which  began,  I  may  say, 
with  McCormick's  reaper,  and  which  opens  the  era  of  cheap 
and  abundant  food. 

One  more  invention,  recent,  bright  and  beautiful,  shall  close 
this  category.  It  is  the  typewriter — the  sewing  machine  of 
thought — which  takes  up  with  nimble  fingers  the  drudgery 
of  writing  as  that  of  sewing,  and  clothes  our  ideas  as  that 
clothes  our  bodies.  It  introduces  the  epoch  of  legible  manu- 
script, with  all  the  saving  of  time,  labor  and  profanity  which 
that  implies. 

All  that  I  have  said  points  to  one  final  thought.  We  look 
backward  over  a  century  of  unparalleled  progress.  To  this  so 
many  causes  have  contributed  that  it  is  impossible  to  measure 
exactly  the  effect  of  each.  It  is  natural  that  we  should  think 
most  of  those  that  spring  from  political  freedom,  which,  in- 
deed, it  is  not  easy  to  over-rate.  But  the  essentials  of  human 
happiness  are  not  found  in  mere  form  of  government.  Per- 
sonal liberty,  a  fair  chance  in  the  race  of  life,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  equal  laws,  are  all  that  is  fundamental.  The  wants 
of  man — the  animal,  to  be  fed,  clothed  and  housed  ;  the  higher 
wants  of  the  man — homo,  to  learn,  read,  think,  travel,  com- 
municate and  receive — it  is  in  the  amplest  supply  of  these  to 
the  largest  number  of  individuals  that  the  greatest  sum  total 
of  human  happiness  is  to  be  found.  And  in  these  this  age 
and  this  country  surpass  all  others. 

We  do  not  often  stop  to  think  how  or  whence  our  blessings 
come.  We  accept  them  with  a  dim  sense  of  gratitude  to  some- 
body or  something  as  a  flower  smiles  its  thanks  to  the  sun- 
shine. But  in  the  light  of  the  reflections  which  this  occasion 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  127 

suggests  we  can  realize  faintly  how  vast  is  the  obligation 
which  we  owe  to  the  inventors  of  America.  Not  a  garment 
that  we  wear,  not  a  meal  that  we  eat,  not  a  paper  that  we  read, 
not  a  tool  that  we  use,  not  a  journey  that  we  take  but  makes 
us  debtor  to  some  American  inventor's  thought.  Measured 
by  what  we  can  learn,  see,  do  and  enjoy  in  a  lifetime,  we  live 
longer  than  Methuselah,  we  are  wiser  than  Solomon,  richer 
than  Croesus,  and  greater  than  Alexander.  Archimides  has 
found  his  fulcrum  ;  it  is  the  brain  of  the  inventor. 

We  can  realize  too,  to-day,  how  wise  the  fathers  were  be- 
yond anything  they  could  have  known  in  providing  in  the 
Constitution  for  the  encouragement  and  reward  of  invention. 
On  twenty-two  words — only  twenty-two  words — in  that  great 
Charter  the  American  patent  system  rests.  What  other 
twenty-two  words  ever  spoken  or  penned  have  borne  such 
fruit  of  blessing  for  mankind  ? 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  129 


THE  NEW  SOUTH  AS  AN  OUTGROWTH  OF  INVEN- 
TION AND  THE  AMERICAN  PATENT  LAW. 

BY  HON.  JOHN  W.  DANIEL,  L.L.D.,  OF  VIRGINIA,  U.  S.  SENATOR. 


I  deem  it  great  honor  to  stand  in  this  presence  and  to 
unite  in  paying  tribute  to  the  inventive  genius  of  our  country- 
men. You,  Mr.  Secretary,  are  to  be  congratulated  upon  the 
admirable  exhibit  of  the  Bureau  of  Patents — under  your 
charge.  It  fulfills  our  democratic-republican  conceptions  of 
good  government  in  every  aspect.  It  records  great  achieve- 
ments of  mind  ;  it  indicates  our  wonderful  progress  ;  it  is  utili- 
tarian in  a  high  degree,  and  it  is  more  than  self-supporting. 
But  the  reach  of  its  usefulness  far  transcends  the  lines  of  its 
economic  administration,  and  its  dignity  is  not  to  be  measured 
by  figures. 

The  Romans  of  old  assigned  the  highest  place  in  the  Elysian 
fields  to  him  who  had  improved  human  life  by  the  invention  of 
arts,  and  surely  our  own  race — the  most  inventive  of  men,  and 
our  own  country  the  most  inventive  of  nations — will  not  refuse 
the  highest  honors  to  those  creative  minds  which  have  con- 
tributed so  much  to  make  it  the  foremost  of  mankind. 

"The  West  Indies,"  says  Lord  Bacon,  "had  never  been 
discovered  without  the  discovery  of  the  mariner's  needle."  All 
America  is  therefore  an  evolution  of  invention,  and  the  in- 
ventor must  be  hailed  as  one  who  cried  in  the  wilderness  before 
the  coming  of  the  Great  Columbus. 

The  inventive  faculties  are  stimulated  by  mechanical  pur- 
suits. The  North  was  early  impelled  to  such  pursuits  by  its 
hard  climate  and  rugged  soil.  The  development  of  its  inven- 
tive faculties  was  instantaneous  and  progressive — greater  than 
the  like  development  in  'the  South,  which  by  favoring  condi- 
tions of  soil  and  climate  was  attracted  to  agriculture  and  the 
proprietorship  of  land.  Connecticut,  Massachusetts,  Penn- 


130  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

sylvania,  New  York,  Rhode  Island — these  were  the  States  that 
led,  and  won  first  honors. 

If  you  ask  me  the  cause  of  the  Northern  victory  in  the 
Civil  War,  I  would  look  beyond  the  smoke  of  battle  and  point 
to  its  inventors,  mechanics  and  manufacturers.  For  through 
them  it  accumulated  its  preponderating  wealth,  numbers  and 
material  forces. 

The  Southern  people,  however,  have  taken  deep  interest  in 
the  promotion  of  arts  and  sciences.  They  have  applauded  the 
achievements  of  Northern  mechanical  genius  ;  they  are  not 
themselves  deficient  in  inventive  gifts,  and  many  Southern 
names  are  companions  in  the  list  of  inventors.  Amongst  them 
are  Sibley,  of  Louisiana,  and  his  conical  tent ;  Gatling,  of  North 
Carolina,  and  his  terrific  gun  ;  McCormick,  of  Virginia,  and  his 
reaper  and  mower ;  Gibbs,  of  Virginia,  and  his  sewing  machine  ; 
Janney,  of  Virginia,  and  his  car  coupler  ;  Gorrie,  of  Louisiana, 
and  his  ice  machine  ;  McComb,  of  Louisiana,  with  his  ' '  arrow  ' ' 
cotton  tie  ;  Gaynor,  of  Kentucky,  and  his  fire  telegraph  ;  Stone, 
of  Missouri,  and  his  grain  roller-mill ;  Remberts,  of  Texas, 
with  his  roller  cotton  compress ;  Clarke,  of  the  same  State, 
with  his  envelope  machine,  and  Campbell,  with  his  cotton 
picker ;  Bonsack,  of  Virginia,  with  his  cigarette  machine ; 
Coffee,  of  Virginia,  with  his  tobacco  stemmer ;  Stevens,  of 
Florida,  with  his  fruit  wrapper ;  I/aw,  of  Georgia,  with  his 
cotton  planter ;  Avery,  of  Kentucky,  with  his  plow  sulky, 
Watt  &  Starke,  of  Virginia,  with  their  plows — these  are  some 
of  the  names  that  greet  us  in  our  history  ;  Rumsey  with 
his  steamboat ;  Maury  with  his  map  of  the  sea,  which  has 
made  his  name  the  synonym  of  benefactor  to  the  navigator  and 
to  commerce  ;  McDonald,  of  our  own  day,  with  his  fish  ladders 
and  hatcheries  filling  our  streams  with  fish.  These,  from  scores 
of  Southern  names,  should  remind  us  that  the  South  has  not 
been  an  idler  in  the  vineyard.  And  when  we  read  in  the 
annals  of  the  Patent  Office  that  some  three  thousand  patents 
were  issued  in  1890  to  Southern  inventors,  we  must  realize 
that  the  South  vies  in  generous  rivalry  in  every  branch  of 
intellectual  achievement. 

Worthy  it  is  of  mention  that  the  first  native  born  American 
woman  to  get  a  patent  was  Agdalena  S.  Goodman,  of  Florida, 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  131 

for  improvement  in  broom  brushes.  Were  I  to  follow  this 
suggestive  fact  a  speech  might  be  made  on  the  inventions  of 
women.  They  are  varied — varying  from  straw  hats  to  horse- 
shoes, and  from  deep-sea  telescopes  to  sewing  machine  attach- 
ments. Woman's  intuitions  are  proverbial ;  when  she  turns 
them  to  mechanical  invention  the  possibilities  of  achievement 
surpass  the  scope  of  prophecy. 

Many  notable  events  of  progress  have  occurred  on  Southern 
soil. 

James  Rumsey,  a  native  of  Maryland  and  a  Virginian  by 
adoption,  exhibited  to  Washington  here  on  the  Potomac  in 
1784  the  model  of  a  boat  for  navigating  rivers  against  the 
current  by  the  force  of  the  stream  acting  on  setting  poles,  and 
in  1789,  the  same  year  that  Fitch  made  his  experimental  trip 
on  the  Delaware,  Rumsey  exhibited  his  steamer  here  on  the 
Potomac,  propelled  by  an  engine  and  mechanism  of  his  own 
invention. 

Both  Fitch  and  Rumsey  received  patents  for  their  inven- 
tions. The  conception  of  the  steamboat  seems  to  have  oc- 
curred to  them  simultaneously,  but  Fitch's  experiment  was  a 
little  prior  in  time.  Rumsey 's  patents  were  allowed  by  New 
York,  Missouri  and  Virginia,  and  also  by  England,  France  and 
Holland.  Benjamin  Franklin  was  a  member  of  the  Rumsey 
Society,  of  Philadelphia,  formed  to  aid  him  in  his  inventions. 
In  1792  he  made  a  successful  trip  in  England  on  the  Thames, 
and  in  1839  Congress  voted  to  his  son,  James  Rumsey,  a 
gold  medal,  "commemorative  of  his  father's  services  and 
high  agency  in  giving  to  the  world  the  benefit  of  the  steam- 
boat." 

The  first  great  American  canal  was  proposed  by  Washington. 
It  was  begun  in  1785  and  was  finished  to  Westham  in  1789, 
and  afterwards  carried  as  far  as  Lexington  and  Buchanan  at 
immense  cost.  Finally,  in  recent  years  it  was  superseded  by  a 
railroad. 

The  first  telegraph  line  in  the  United  States  was  established 
between  Baltimore  and  Washington  in  1844,  and  about  the 
same  time  and  place  appeared  the  first  electric  locomotive. 

The  South  was  in  the  front  rank  of  railroad  projection  and 
construction.  Amongst  the  earliest  experiments  with  a  steam 


132  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

locomotive  on  a  railroad  in  this  country  were  those  made  by 
Peter  Cooper  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  in  1829  and  1830, 
contemporaneous  with  Stevenson's  work  on  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester,  in  England.  About  the  same  time  at  Honesdale, 
Penn.,  the  * '  Stourbridge  Lion,"  a  locomotive  engine  imported 
from  England,  was  making  a  trial  trip  on  a  mine  railroad  con- 
structed of  strap  iron.  This  event  occurred  August  8,  1829, 
and  was  probably  the  first  of  its  kind  in  the  Western  Hemis- 
phere. Horatio  Allen,  who  superintended  the  experiment,  was 
living  in  1888,  and  gave  an  account  of  it  in  a  letter  which  appears 
in  the  proceedings  of  the  National  Museum  for  that  year. 
But  the  South  Carolina  Railroad,  from  Charleston  to  Hamburg, 
was  the  first  road  commenced  in  this  country  with  a  view  to 
the  use  of  steam.  It  was  chartered  in  1825,  begun  in  1830, 
completed  in  1833.  For  it  was  constructed  the  first  loco- 
motive ;  it  was  the  first  steam  road  that  carried  the  United 
States  mail,  and  when  completed,  in  October,  1833,  it  was  the 
longest  railroad  in  the  world. 

The  South  Carolina  Colony,  as  early  as  1691,  passed  an  act  to 
encourage  the  making  of  engines  for  propagating  ' '  the  staples 
of  this  Province,"  and  in  1717  an  act  "for  encouraging  the 
making  of  potash  and  saltpeter."  And  in  1784  it  passed  a 
regular  patent  law  for  the  encouragement  of  the  arts  and  sci- 
ences giving  inventors  exclusive  benefit  of  their  labors  for 
fourteen  years. 

The  early  settlers  of  the  South — and  they  were  the  pioneers 
of  our  race  in  the  United  States — brought  with  them  some 
knowledge  of  the  useful  arts  and  manufactures  from  the  mother 
country,  and  while  they  were  building  block  houses  to  defend 
against  the  savages,  their  rude  establishments  of  industry  were 
rising  in  the  wilderness. 

With  Captain  Newport  there  came  to  the  Colony  of  Virginia 
in  1608,  twelve  years  before  the  pilgrims  landed  at  Plymouth 
Rock,  a  number  of  citizens  to  make  glass,  and  others  to  make 
tar,  pitch  and  soap-ashes.  A  mile  from  Jamestown  was  estab- 
lished the  first  manufactory  in  the  United  States — a  factory  for 
making  glass  bottles.  A  saw-mill,  driven  by  water  and  used 
for  cutting  wainscoating  and  boards,  soon  followed  this 
infant  industry.  Ere  long  boat-building  began,  salt  works 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  133 

were  established,  and  skillful  vine-growers  planted  a  vineyard 
in  1620.  In  1623  the  Virginia  Legislature  required  settlers  to 
plant  mulberry  trees,  in  order  to  raise  silk-worms  and  produce 
silk  ;  and,  as  the  story  goes,  Charles  II  wore  at  his  coronation 
in  1651  a  robe  and  hose  of  Virginia  silk,  the  art  of  weaving 
having  been  introduced  into  England  in  1620. 

In  1621  "  the  first  cultivation  of  cotton  in  the  United  States 
deserves  commemoration.  This  year  the  seeds  were  planted  as 
an  experiment,  and  their  plentiful  coming  up  was  at  that  early 
day  a  subject  of  interest  in  America  and  England."  So  writes 
George  Bancroft,  the  historian. 

Not  less  notable  is  the  fact  that  the  first  works  for  smelting  in 
America  were  set  up  in  1619  on  Falling  creek,  a  tributary  of  the 
James  river,  which  enters  it  some  seven  miles  below  Richmond. 
Here  the  brown  ore  was  found  lying  on  the  surface,  and  good 
progress  was  made  toward  completing  the  works  under  Mr. 
John  Berkley,  who  was  in  charge  of  them.  But  before  the 
consummation  Berkley  and  all  his  workmen  were  slain  and  the 
works  destroyed  in  the  Indian  massacre  of  March  22,  1622.  It 
is  curious  to  note  that  about  the  same  time  that  the  Indians 
were  scalping  the  pioneer  iron-makers  in  Virginia  an  ignorant 
mob  in  England  destroyed  the  works  of  L,ord  Edward  Dudley, 
for  smelting  ore  with  pit  coal  by  a  new  process  of  his  in- 
vention. Savagery  and  ignorance  go  together. 

McMasters,  in  his  history  of  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
ascribes  to  Thomas  Jefferson  the  glory  of  the  American 
patent  system,  and  declares  that  he  inspired  it  and  took  so 
deep  an  interest  in  its  workings  that  he  is  entitled  to  be  called 
its  founder.  This  view  consists  with  the  traditions  of  the 
Patent  Office.  Certain  it  is  that  the  subject  was  congenial  to 
the  practical  scientific  mind  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  certain  it  is 
that  he  took  deep  interest  in  the  development  of  the  system 
and  in  all  that  concerns  the  useful  arts  and  scientific  methods. 

Amongst  the  powers  conferred  upon  Congress  by  the  Federal 
Constitution  is  the  power  *  *  to  promote  the  progress  of  science 
and  useful  arts  by  securing  for  limited  times  to  authors  and 
inventors  the  exclusive  right  to  their  respective  writings  and 
discoveries."  In  this  provision  was  compromised  the  con- 
tention on  the  one  hand  that  authors  and  inventors  had  a 


134  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

property  right  in  all  copies  of  their  works,  and  the  adverse 
contention  that  they  had  no  rights  whatever  entitled  to  legal 
protection  in  such  copies.  Jefferson  thoroughly  expounded 
this  subject  in  his  correspondence,  showing  that  authors  and 
inventors  have  an  equity  to  protection  for  a  reasonable  time, 
but  that  inventions  are  not  property.  u  It  would  be  curious," 
he  said,  "  if  an  idea — the  fugitive  fermentation  of  an  individual 
brain — could  of  natural  right  be  deemed  an  exclusive  and 
stable  property."  "  Nature,"  he  said,  "made  ideas  like  fire, 
expansible  over  all  space  without  lessening  their  density  at 
any  one  point ;  and  like  the  air  in  which  we  breathe,  move 
and  have  our  physical  being,  incapable  of  confinement  or  ex- 
clusive appropriation."  Again,  ''He  who  receives  an  idea 
from  me  receives  instruction  himself  without  lessening  mine  ; 
as  he  who  lights  his  taper  at  mine  receives  light  without  dark- 
ening me."  On  such  clear  perceptions  rests  our  Constitution 
and  our  patent  system,  and  they  have  universal  respect  because 
of  the  equity  and  justice  that  underlies  them  in  granting  "  ex- 
clusive rights  for  limited  times." 

In  the  Federal  Convention  which  framed  the  Constitution, 
James  Madison  of  Virginia  and  Charles  Pinckney  of  South 
Carolina  suggested  the  provisions  as  to  copyright  and  patent- 
right  which  resulted  in  the  formulation  of  the  constitutional 
clause  which  I  have  quoted.  The  author  of  the  identical 
language  is  not  known,  but  it  emanated  from  the  Committee 
on  Style,  of  which  Dr.  Johnson  was  chairman.  The  first  act 
of  Congress  on  the  subject  was  reported  by  Mr.  Burke  of  South 
Carolina  on  the  loth  of  April,  1790,  from  a  committee  of  which 
he,  Mr.  Huntingdon  of  Connecticut,  and  Mr.  Cadwalader  of 
New  Jersey  were  members.  The  first  American  patent  was 
issued  on  July  31,  1790,  and  bears  the  signatures  of  George 
Washington,  the  President  of  the  United  States ;  Thomas 
Jefferson,  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  Edmund  Randolph,  the 
Attorney- General.  The  reorganization  of  the  Patent  Office 
occurred  in  1836,  under  the  administration  of  Andrew  Jack- 
son, a  Southern  President.  What  mighty  strides  have  been 
made  within  the  century  past  is  attested  by  the  records.  Only 
three  patents  were  issued  in  1790,  thirty-three  in  r79i,  and 
eleven  in  1792,  that  is  forty-seven  in  three  years:  and  only 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  135 

twelve  within  the  first  fifty  years.  Now  more  than  these  are 
issued  in  one  year;  and  in  the  year  1890  over  26,000  were 
issued  for  every  variety  of  invention  and  improvement.  And 
within  a  single  century  the  United  States,  surpassing  all  the 
older  nations,  has  taken  the  foremost  rank  and  risen  to  "the 
highest  heaven  of  invention." 

It  is  from  the  soil  that  all  men  gain  their  sustenance,  and  as 
a  people  who  long  made  its  tillage  their  chief  vocation,  the 
South  is  first  indebted  to  those  who  have  ameliorated  the 
methods  of  its  cultivation.  The  ancients  plowed  with  a 
crooked  stick — the  crotch  of  a  tree.  The  plows  "of  the 
colonists  in  America  were  made  wholly  of  wood,  and  it  was 
only  in  the  last  century  that  they  were  tipped  with  iron. 
Farmers  were  slow  to  welcome  improvements,  and  even  con- 
tended that  cast-iron  plows  poisoned  the  ground,  produced 
weeds  and  spoiled  the  crops.  The  first  cast-iron  plow  seen 
in  this  country  was  after  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  It  was 
imported  from  Holland,  and  was  the  invention  of  James  Small 
of  Berwickshire.  Again  Thomas  Jefferson  comes  to  the  front. 
He  was  the  first  American  to  study  and  improve  the  plow, 
inventing  a  new  form  of  mould-board  and  fixing  its  curvature 
to  avoid  friction.  His  son-in-law,  Colonel  Randolph,  invented 
a  hill-side  plow.  Soon  the  field  was  entered  by  many  in- 
ventors;  and  in  1816  eleven  patents  had  been  issued  to 
citizens  of  New  York,  eight  to  Maryland,  three  to  Connecti- 
cut, two  to  Virginia,  one  to  Kentucky,  and  one  to  New  Jersey. 
There  are  now  over  2,000  establishments  in  the  United  States 
for  manufacturing  agricultural  implements.  They  employ 
over  40,000  hands,  their  product  is  worth  over  $68,000,000  ; 
there  are  200,000,000  acres  of  ground  plowed,  requiring  the 
service  of  over  2,000,000  teams  for  eighty  days  during  the 
year.  Harrows,  rakes,  cultivators,  diggers,  reapers  and  mow- 
ers in  bewildering  array  arise  before  us,  and  farming  has 
become  a  fine  art,  requiring  as  much  brain  and  method  for 
success  as  any  of  the  learned  professions,  and  our  agricultural 
machinery  is  sent  all  over  the  world,  its  superiority  being 
acknowledged. 

To  all  the  great  inventors  the  South  is  as  much  indebted  as 
is  any  other  portion  of  tlu;  civilized  globe  for  the  blessings 


136  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

and  comforts  which  they  have  conferred  on  mankind.  To 
Watt  and  the  steam  engine,  to  George  Stephenson  and  his 
locomotive,  to  Morse  and  the  electric  telegraph,  to  Edison, 
the  wizard,  and  all  of  his  electrical  and  other  inventions,  to 
Bell  and  his  telephone,  to  Howe,  to  Singer,  Willcox  and 
Gibbs,  and  Weed  and  their  sewing  machines,  to  Hoe  and  his 
printing  press,  to  Fulton  and  Fitch  and  Rumsey  and  their 
steamboat,  to  Davy  and  the  safety  lamp,  to  Westinghouse  and 
his  air-brake,  and  Pullman  and  his  sleeper — each  and  all  of 
these  should  be  remembered  as  benefactors  of  the  world.  But 
if  I  were  asked  to  designate  the  two  inventors  to  whom  the 
South  is  perhaps  more  peculiarly  indebted  than  to  others,  I 
would  answer  with  the  names  of  Eli  Whitney,  the  inventor 
of  the  cotton-gin,  and  Henry  Bessemer,  the  inventor  of  the 
modern  process  for  making  steel. 

The  invention  of  Henry  Bessemer  consists  in  the  process  of 
eliminating  carbon  and  silicon  from  iron  by  passing  a  stream 
of  oxygen  through  the  melted  mass.  This  converts  it  into 
steel.  He  also  constructed  the  machinery  for  accomplish- 
ing this  result  of  exquisite  adaptation  to  its  purposes.  A 
Bessemer  converter,  weighing  with  its  contents  twenty  or 
thirty  tons,  is  moved  on  its  axis  by  the  touch  of  a  hand  and 
receives  thereby  a  blast  so  powerful  that  every  particle  of  the 
metallic  mass  within  is  heated  to  the  highest  temperature,  and 
by  the  infusion  of  oxygen  is  turned  into  ingots  of  steel. 

Twenty-two  Bessemer  works  had  been  established  in  this 
country  in  1884.  Rolling  mills  at  Chicago  produced  the  first 
steel  rails  by  this  process  in  1865.  Now  great  steel  works  are 
starting  up  in  many  directions.  Since  1880  Rhode  Island  and 
Vermont  have  abandoned  steel-making,  and  three  Southern 
States  have  begun  it ;  that  is,  Alabama,  Virginia  and  West 
Virginia.  The  trend  is  southward.  It  is  this  cheap  steel  that 
is  upsetting  the  values  of  the  great  land-holdings  of  the  British 
nobility,  and  is  pouring  into  the  lap  of  commerce  the  crops  of 
the  South  and  West.  The  "Age  of  Steel"  dates  from  the 
success  of  Bessemer. 

A  Southern  iron  master  —  William  Kelly,  of  Eddyville, 
Kentucky — preceded  Bessemer  in  the  discovery  of  the  pneu- 
matic principle  of  the  Bessemer  process,  and  successfully 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  137 

antagonized  him  in  claiming  priorty  of  invention  in  a  contest 
in  the  Patent  Office.  But  Bessemer,  with  the  aid  of  Robert 
Mushet,  was  more  successful  in  the  application  of  his  principle 
to  the  production  of  steel,  and  the  machinery  was  successful 
from  the  first  in  its  operations. 

In  1793  EK  Whitney,  a  young  school  teacher  from  Massa- 
chusetts, located  in  Georgia,  and  was  the  guest  of  Mrs.  Greene, 
widow  of  General  Nathaniel  Greene,  of  Revolutionary  fame. 
She  got  into  trouble  about  her  tambour  frame.  He  fixed  it. 
Conversation  one  day  turned  on  the  separation  of  cotton  from 
the  seed.  "Send  for  Mr.  Whitney,"  she  said,  "  he  can  make 
anything."  Whitney  studied  the  subject,  and  the  cotton-gin 
was  the  result.  This  instrument  could  be  worked  by  a  man  or 
woman,  and  could  clean  more  cotton  in  a  single  day  than  could 
be  done  by  a  person  in  several  months  by  hand.  It  had  an 
enormous  effect  upon  the  development  of  cotton  planting  in  the 
South  and  of  cotton  manufactures  in  the  North.  Five  English 
inventors — Kay,  who  invented  the  fly  shuttle ;  Hargreaves, 
who,  watching  his  wife  at  the  spinning-wheel  in  his  cottage, 
took  the  hint  from  her  nimble  fingers  and  invented  a  machine 
to  which  he  gave  her  name,  the  ' '  Spinning  Jenny  ' '  ;  Richard 
Arkwright,  the  inventor  of  the  water  frame  ;  Samuel  Cromp- 
ton,  of  the  spinning  mule,  and  Edmund  Cartwright,  of  the 
power  loom — these  five  inventors  had  laid  the  foundation  of 
cotton  manufacture  as  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  world's  in- 
dustries. * '  For  this  industry  has, ' '  as  Towle  writes,  "  in  a 
century  created  the  English  Manchester  out  of  a  straggling 
rural  hamlet  and  Liverpool  out  of  an  obscure  fishing  village, 
and  has  transformed  the  English  County  of  Lancaster  from  a 
dreary  and  barren  waste  into  a  noisy  network  of  dense  busy 
towns  and  crowded  factories. ' '  Now  came  EH  Whitney,  giving 
to  Southern  agriculture  the  one  machine  needed  to  give  cotton 
its  imperial  position  amongst  the  great  products  of  the  world, 
and  feeding  New  England  with  the  staple  of  manufacture  out 
of  which  arose  splendid  prosperity. 

In  1787  the  first  American  cotton  mills  were  erected  (in 
Massachusetts),  but  so  slow  was  progress  that  in  1807  only 
fifteen  mills  (chiefly  in  Rhode  Island)  were  in  operation,  with 
about  8,000  spindles,  producing  some  300,000  pounds  of  cotton 


138  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

yarn  a  year.  In  1807  came  the  embargo  and  non-importation 
act,  under  the  second  administration  of  Jefferson.  Within  less 
than  two  years  nearly  $4,000,000  were  invested  in  cotton  mills, 
4,000  persons  employed,  the  number  of  spindles  doubled,  and 
arrangements  made  for  increasing  them  from  8,000  to  80,000. 
An  impetus  was  given  to  New  Kngland's  manufactures  which 
has  known  "no  retiring  ebb." 

The  vast  importance  of  these  and  kindred  inventions  to  the 
South  cannot  be  estimated  until  we  remember  what  a  wonderful 
land  it  is,  and  how  richly  nature  has  endowed  it  with  the  ele- 
ments of  wealth.  We  call  it  the  South,  but  its  southernmost 
point  is  1,700  miles  north  of  the  Equator.  It  is  a  part  of  our 
northern  continent.  It  lies  wholly  in  the  temperate  zone,  and 
while  its  suns  are  warm  enough  to  stimulate  the  fruits  of 
nature  and  the  energies  of  man,  they  are  not  so  hot  as  to 
parch  the  one  or  to  enervate  the  other. 

It  is  washed  for  over  2,000  miles  by  the  Atlantic  ocean. 
It  is  intersected  by  the  Father  of  Waters  and  by  many  rivers. 
It  produces  all  the  cereals  and  grasses  to  perfection,  and  an 
infinite  variety  of  fruits,  from  the  apple  to  the  banana,  and 
from  the  peach  and  apricot  to  the  orange  and  lemon.  It  is  a 
land  of  corn  and  oil  and  wine,  and  milk  and  honey  ;  it  is 
a  land  of  rice  and  sugar  and  cotton  and  tobacco  ;  it  is  a  land 
of  coal  and  iron,  and  of  green  pastures  and  virgin  forests. 

The  value  of  the  raw  cotton  that  we  sent  abroad  in  1890  was 
$250,000,000 ;  a  hundred  million  more  than  the  value  of  all 
the  breadstuffs  we  export ;  a  hundred  millions  more  than  all 
the  manufactured  products  we  export ;  a  hundred  millions 
more  than  all  the  meat  and  dairy  products  we  export ;  eight 
times  more  than  all  the  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs  we  export. 
It  is  the  chief  item  of  our  foreign  trade.  It  secures  to  us  the 
balance  in  our  favor.  It  is  the  under-pinning  of  our  financial 
system,  that  keeps  our  gold  with  us  and  sustains  the  value  of 
our  investments.  There  is  not  a  nation  on  the  earth  that  does 
not  clothe  itself  with  cotton.  There  is  no  nation  that  can  vie 
with  us  in  its  production,  and  the  South  is  the  only  part  of  our 
country  that  produces  it. 

The  inventor  has  given  a  new  value  (estimated  at  $2.50  per 
acre)  to  the  cotton  field.  For  seventy  years  the  seed  were 


PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE   CONGRESS.  139 

thrown  away  ;  now  they  are  turned  into  oil  and  oil-cakes,  and 
are  the  basis  of  an  industry  valued  at  $50,000,000.  Cotton 
seed  mills  are  'operating  in  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Georgia, 
Illinois,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Missouri,  North  Carolina, 
South  Carolina,  Tennessee  and  Texas.  Two  Virginians, 
Digges  of  Albemarle  as  far  back  as  1820,  and  Glowes  of 
Hamilton  in  1825,  invented  oil  presses,  and  seemed  to  discern 
the  future  use  of  cotton  seed.  Now  there  are  inventions  by 
the  score  of  presses  and  processes  for  their  utilization. 

Cotton,  iron,  wool,  wood  and  the  various  clays  are  the  most 
important  raw  materials  of  manufacture.  In  all  these  the 
South  abounds.  It  is  a  mass  of  coal  and  iron.  The  great 
Appalachian  range,  stretching  700  miles  and  penetrating  the 
very  heart  of  the  South,  contains  every  variety  of  bituminous, 
block,  splint  and  cannel  coals.  Here  is  forty  times  as  much  in 
sight  as  is  accessible  to  economic  production  in  Great  Britain. 
The  coal  field  is  covered  with  virgin  forests  of  white,  black, 
Spanish  chestnut  and  best  oak,  yellow  poplar,  yellow  pine  and 
walnut.  It  is  stored  also  with  iron  ore  and  limestone. 

Kdward  Atkinson  has  expressed  the  opinion  that  you  can 
stand  on  the  summit  of  the  Great  Smoky  mountain  in  this 
range  and  behold  the  situs  of  the  future  iron-center  of  the  world. 

Iron  is  the  king  metal  as  cotton  is  the  king  vegetable  fiber. 
Solon  was  right.  When  Croesus  boasted  of  his  golden  treas- 
ures, he  said  :  "  If  another  comes  that  hath  better  iron  than 
you  he  will  be  master  of  all  this  gold." 

The  epochs  of  the  world  have  been  marked  by  the  weapons 
and  utensils  of  its  inhabitants.  First,  the  stone  age,  when 
they  were  of  stone  and  flint  or  wood  or  bone.  Then  the 
bronze  age,  when  they  were  of  a  metal  composed  of  copper 
and  tin.  Then  came  the  iron  age,  and  now,  since  the  Bes- 
semer process  has  been  inaugurated,  the  age  of  steel.  Myriad 
are  its  uses  :  baby  toys  and  ironclad  navies,  cannon  balls  and 
knitting  needles,  railroad  tracks  and  surgical  instruments, 
bridges  and  houses  and  fortifications,  locks  and  keys  and 
buttons,  the  steam  engine  and  the  delicate  watch,  the  nail, 
the  axe,  the  saw,  the  plow,  the  pen,  the  sword. 

The  United  States  is  the  greatest  consumer  of  iron  and  steel 
in  the  world.  We  make  35  and  use  40  per  cent,  of  the  world's 


140  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

product.  In  eleven  years  Great  Britain's  product  decreased 
from  45  to  33  per  cent.,  while  ours  increased  from  16  to  over 
30  per  cent. 

There  are  vast  bodies  of  Bessemer  ore  at  the  South  out  of 
which  Bessemer  pig  can  be  made  at  ten  dollars  per  ton. 

Carroll  D.  Wright,  Esq.,  the  Commissioner  of  L,abor,  com- 
pared the  cost  of  making  iron  from  the  ore  at  twenty-five 
Northern  furnaces  and  at  twenty-five  Southern  furnaces.  The 
highest  cost  at  the  Northern  furnaces  was  $15.78  per  ton,  the 
lowest  $12.42,  the  average  $13.97  At  the  South  the  highest 
cost  was  $12.91,  the  lowest  $8.55,  the  average  $10.75,  an 
average  difference  of  $3.22  per  ton. 

The  last  decade  of  Southern  progress  has  indeed  been  a 
revelation  and  a  revolution.  Northern  brains  and  capital 
have  freely  mingled  with  our  own,  and  every  season  empha- 
sizes the  truth  of  Judge  Kelly's  prophecy  that  the  South  is  the 
coming  HI  Dorado  of  American  adventure.  There  are  southern 
cities  to-day  with  ten,  twenty  or  thirty  thousand  inhabitants, 
which  a  few  years  ago  were  scarce  a  local  habitation  or  a  name. 
Witness  Anniston,  with  1,000  in  1880  and  10,000  in  1890; 
Birmingham,  with  3,000  in  1880  and  26,000  in  1890.  Chatta- 
nooga sprang  from  a  village  to  a  city  of  30,000,  and  Roanoke 
from  a  way  station  to  a  city  of  near  20,000. 

It  is  estimated  that  within  the  decade  $800,000,000  has  been 
expended  on  southern  railroads.  Its  railway  mileage  has 
increased  from  20,000  to  40,000  miles,  and  it  is  now  construct- 
ing more  mileage  than  all  the  rest  of  the  country. 

Its  coal  output  within  the  same  period  has  increased  from 
6,000,000  to  20,000,000  tons,  and  its  product  of  pig  iron  from 
390,000  to  nearly  2,000,000  tons.  Its  cotton  mills  have  in- 
creased from  1 60,  with  660,000  spindles,  to  355  with  over 
2,000,000  spindles.  Its  live  stock  has  increased,  in  value  from 
$390,000,000  to  near  $600,000,000,  and  its  agricultural  pro- 
ducts from  $600,000,000  to  nearly  $1,000,000,000. 

We  are  sending  coal  and  pig  iron  to  Pennsylvania,  making 
cars  for  New  Kngland  railroads,  making  woolen  goods  for 
Northern  markets,  shipping  cotton  goods  to  New  Kngland, 
and  producing  a  variety  of  manufactures  which  it  would  take 
a  dictionary  to  catalogue,  but  they  range  from  egg-crates  to 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE  CONGRESS.  141 

iron  bridges,  from  a  tooth-pick  to  a  locomotive,  from  paper 
bags  to  the  armor  of  ironclad  battle-ships. 

The  Superintendent  of  the  Census,  R.  P.  Porter,  Esq.,  has 
kindly  furnished  me  with  these  advance  figures  of  the  coal 
product  : 

COMPARATIVE  STATEMENT  OF  PRODUCT  OF  COAL  FOR  THE 
SOUTHERN  STATES,  TENTH  AND  ELEVENTH  CENSUS. 

Tenth  Census.        Eleventh  Census. 
(Short  Tons.)  (Short  Tons.) 

Alabama 323>972  3>572,983 

Arkansas H.778  279,584 

Georgia i54>644  226, 156 

Kentucky 946,288  1,933,643 

Maryland 2,228,917  2,939,715 

Missouri 556,304  2,557,823 

North  Carolina 350  

Tennessee 495, 131  1,925,689 

Virginia 45,896  865,786 

West  Virginia 1,839,845  6,180,757 


Total 6,606,125         20,482,136 

Not  less  eloquent  are  the  figures  from  the  same  source  that 
show  comparatively  the  product  of  the  mineral  industries  of 
the  whole  United  States  in  1870,  and  those  of  the  Central 
Southern  States  in  1890. 

MINERAL  INDUSTRIES. 


Bituminous  coal 

Production  of  the 
United  States  in 
1870. 

Tons. 
„.    l^.OOO.OOO 

Production  of  the 
Central  Southern 
States  in  1890. 

Tons. 
17  772  Q4.^ 

Iron  ore              .  ..  . 

-2.  16^  8^Q 

2  QI7.  Z2Q 

Pie  iron.... 

2.0^2.821 

1.  780.QOQ 

Thus  we  are  now  nearly  up  to  the  mark  of  the  entire  pro- 
duction of  iron  in  the  United  States  in  1870 ;  and  in  coal  are 
now  nearly  3,000,000  of  tons  ahead  of  its  entire  product  then. 


142  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

This  item  of  the  foreign  trade  of  the  United  States  is  scarce 
less  instructive.  From  July  i,  1890,  to  January  i,  1891,  there 
was  an  increase  in  our  foreign  exports  of  $7,000,000,  but  from 
the  South  of  $8,000,000 — that  is,  a  decrease  of  $1,000,000  from 
the  whole  country  but  for  the  Southern  increase.  The  most 
striking  item  was  the  increase  at  Newport  News,  Va.,  of 
$4,736,000  as  compared  with  $2,387,209  for  the  corresponding 
period  of  the  previous  year,  a  gain  of  nearly  100  per  cent. 

In  such  facts  as  these  the  stars  of  empire  gleam.  In  1893 
the  navies  of  the  world  will  assemble  in  Hampton  Roads,  off 
Norfolk,  Newport  News  and  Fortress  Monroe,  preparatory  to 
the  grand  review  at  New  York  inaugurating  the  Exposition 
at  Chicago.  They  will  there  behold  the  seat  of  a  coming 
commerce  and  industrial  movement  that  will  tell  a  tale  of 
progress  in  the  next  census  as  wonderful  as  any  page  in  the 
history  of  the  New  South. 

The  commanding  position  of  Great  Britain  amongst  modern 
nations  is  vastly  due  to  the  fact  that  it  has  drawn  the  raw 
materials  of  its  factories  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe,  giving 
employment  to  skilled  artisans  at  home,  and  at  once  sustaining 
its  commerce  and  enriching  its  merchants  and  manufacturers. 

When  it  had  lost  the  brightest  of  its  crown  jewels  by  the 
obstinacy  of  George  III,  and  Burgoyne  and  Cornwallis  had 
surrendered  America,  British  inventors  and  mechanics  were 
developing  machines  which  restored  the  prestige  lost  by  arms 
at  Saratoga  and  York  town. 

The  Northern  and  Eastern  States  have  copied  upon  the 
English  models,  and  the  raw  materials  produced  by  the  South 
have  vastly  aided  them — being  first  carried  North  to  their 
factories,  and  then  returned  South  in  manufactured  articles. 

The  secret  of  the  great  economic  change  that  has  come  over 
the  South  lies  in  a  nutshell — it  possesses  the  richest  and  most 
diversified  supply  of  the  staple  raw  materials — it  has  begun  on 
a  vast  scale  to  manufacture  them  where  they  can  be  manu- 
factured cheapest — that  is,  at  the  mine  and  in  the  field  and 
forest  that  produces  them.  It  will  henceforth  give  employ- 
ment to  millions  of  skilled  artisans.  It  will  henceforth  employ 
only  the  most  improved  methods  of  production.  Its  industries 
will  be  more  diversified  than  those  of  any  other  people.  Under 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE   CONGRESS.  143 

its  genial  skies,  on  the  banks  of  its  many  rivers,  beside  its 
wide-stretched  cotton  and  grain  fields  and  orchards  and  pas- 
tures, in  its  noble  forests,  and  at  the  mouths  of  mines  that 
pour  forth  inexhaustible  treasures  will  rise  teeming  cities,  and 
in  its  broad  ports  the  merchantmen  of  the  world  will  assemble 
its  fleets  of  commerce. 

In  the  great  work  of  renovation  and  advancement  the 
inventor  will  lead.  The  inventor  of  an  idea  is  the  discoverer 
of  a  special  providence,  and  he  who  knows  how  to  use  it 
"  hitches  his  wagon  to  a  star."  The  world  has  grown  wise 
enough  to  know  that  with  every  invention  that  saves  labor 
luxury  is  laid  at  the  feet  of  the  toiler,  and  skillful  hands  and 
brains  are  released  from  menial  tasks  for  others  more  exalted. 
Ignorant  mobs  will  no  longer  break  the  shuttles  of  a  Kay,  or 
drive  the  smelters  from  the  coal  pits  of  a  Dudley. 

The  inventor  has  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  poverty, 
dissipated  the  mysteries  of  humbug,  and  destroyed  the 
monopoly  of  knowledge.  He  has  torn  down  the  idol  in  the 
temple  and  driven  the  false  god  from  the  grove  and  the  moun- 
tain. He  has  tamed  the  spirit  of  the  savage  with  his  power, 
and  inspired  the  spirit  of  Christ  with  his  benefactions.  He 
has  compelled  peace  by  making  war  too  terrible  to  tamper 
with. 

He  has  instituted  fraternity  by  bringing  distant  ones  in  con- 
verse and  in  contact.  He  has  established  the  union  of  mankind 
by  disclosing  the  unity  of  the  universe.  The  oceans  which  he 
has  mapped,  the  waves  which  he  has  bestridden,  the  lands 
which  he  has  woven  and  banded  together  with  steel,  the  winds 
whose  coming  and  going  he  has  foretold,  and  whose  whispers 
he  has  interpreted  ;  the  very  stars  whose  secrets  he  has  read, 
and  the  lightnings  which  he  has  made  to  utter  speech,  to 
illumine  darkness,  and  to  bear  burdens — all  these  proclaim 
him  as  earth's  true  conqueror  and  man's  best  friend. 

Ere  long  I  trust  a  great  National  Hall  of  Sciences  will  rise 
here  at  the  Capital  to  display  the  mechanical  achievements  of 
American  genius,  and  I  would  that  Washington  might  teem 
with  the  statues  of  inventors. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  145 


THE  COPYRIGHT  SYSTEM   OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES— ITS  ORIGIN  AND  ITS  GROWTH. 

BY  HON.  AINSWORTH  R.  SPOFFORD,  LL.D.,  LIBRARIAN  U.S.  CONGRESS. 


"The  chief  glory  of  every  people,"  says  Dr.  Samuel  John- 
son, "arises  from  its  authors."  The  history  and  present 
condition  of  the  law  of  literary  property  in  the  United  States 
possesses  both  for  writers  and  readers  a  commanding  interest. 
Amid  all  uncertainties  which  have  beset  the  proper  protection 
of  the  rights  of  authors,  and  the  sometimes  conflicting  decis- 
ions of  the  courts  thereupon,  the  fact  that  this  protection  has 
always  been  recognized  as  due  stands  prominently  out.  And 
its  foundation  appears  to  be  broader  and  deeper  in  this  country 
than  in  any  other,  since  it  is  distinctly  laid  in  the  Constitution 
of  the  government  itself.  That  instrument  declares  that  ' '  the 
Congress  shall  have  power  to  promote  the  progress  of  science 
and  useful  arts,  by  securing  for  limited  times  to  authors  and 
inventors  the  exclusive  right  to  their  respective  writings  and 
discoveries." 

Upon  this  broad  and  salutary  provision  are  founded  all  the 
statutes  regulating  copyright  in  books,  from  the  earliest  act 
signed  by  George  Washington,  in  1790,  to  the  most  recent 
legislation  of  the  last  Congress  enacting  international  copy- 
right. 

To  James  Madison  belongs  the  honor  of  having  first  offered, 
on  the  1 8th  of  August,  1787,  in  the  Federal  Convention  which 
framed  the  Constitution,  a  provision  for  this,  among  other 
powers,  as  ' '  proper  to  be  added  to  those  of  the  general  legis- 
lature, ' '  namely  :  "  to  secure  to  literary  authors  their  copy- 
rights for  a  limited  time."  Mr.  Pinckney  of  South  Carolina 
submitted  other  proposed  grants  of  power  to  Congress,  among 
which  was  this  :  "To  secure  to  authors  exclusive  rights  for  a 
certain  time."  These  were  coupled,  in  each  case,  with  an 
independent  proposition  empowering  Congress  to  grant  patents 


146  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

for  useful  inventions.  All  the  propositions  were  referred  to 
the  "committee  of  detail,"  who  formulated  the  desired  pro- 
visions into  the  clause  ultimately  adopted  in  the  Constitution, 
and  previously  cited.  This  ultimate  provision  amalgamated 
what  were  two  independent  propositions,  as  drawn  by  their 
authors,  into  one,  doubtless  for  the  sake  of  greater  economy  of 
words,  in  an  instrument  remarkable  for  its  condensed  style 
and  plain,  perspicuous  language. 

It  is  a  very  notable  fact  that  the  United  States  of  America 
was  the  first  nation  that  ever  embodied  the  principle  of  pro- 
tection to  the  rights  of  authors  in  its  fundamental  law.  Thus 
anchored  in  the  Constitution  itself,  this  principle  has  been 
further  recognized  by  repeated  acts  of  Congress,  aimed  in  all 
cases  at  giving  it  full  practical  effect.  No  right  is  ever  com- 
plete without  a  remedy  ;  and  our  National  Legislature  has 
very  properly  guarded  the  conceded  rights  of  authors  by  pro- 
visions of  law,  designed  to  secure  to  them  an  exclusive  privi- 
lege in  the  benefits  to  be  derived  during  the  term  prescribed, 
and  enforcing  these  rights  by  ample  penalties. 

The  first  copyright  act  was  passed  early  in  the  first  Con- 
gress, and  received  the  presidential  approval  of  Washington 
on  the  3ist  of  May,  1790.  By  its  provisions  the  term  of  dura- 
tion of  each  copyright  was  limited  to  fourteen  years,  with  a 
further  right  of  renewal  for  fourteen  years  longer,  provided 
the  author  were  living  at  the  expiration  of  the  first  term.  If 
it  is  asked  why  the  authors  of  the  Constitution  gave  to  Con- 
gress no  plenary  power,  which  might  have  authorized  a  grant 
of  copyright  in  perpetuity,  the  answer  is,  that  in  this,  as  in 
many  other  provisions  of  the  Constitution,  British  precedent 
had  a  great,  if  not  a  controlling  influence.  Copyright  in 
England,  by  virtue  of  the  statute  of  Anne,  passed  in  1710  (the 
first  British  copyright  act),  was  limited  to  fourteen  years,  with 
right  of  renewal,  by  a  living  author,  of  only  fourteen  years 
more ;  and  this  was  in  full  force  in  1787,  when  our  Constitu- 
tion was  framed.  Prior  to  the  British  statute  of  1710,  authors 
had  only  what  is  called  a  common  law  right  to  their  writings  ; 
and  however  good  such  a  right  might  be,  so  long  as  they  held 
them  in  manuscript,  the  protection  to  printed  books  was 
extremely  uncertain  and  precarious. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  147 

It  has  been  held,  indeed,  that  all  copyright  laws,  so  far 
from  maintaining  an  exclusive  property  right  to  authors,  do  in 
effect  deny  it  (at  least  in  the  sense  of  a  natural  right),  by 
explicitly  limiting  the  term  of  exclusive  ownership,  which 
might  otherwise  be  held  (as  in  other  property)  to  be  perpetual, 
or  during  the  lifetime  of  the  owner.  But  there  is  a  radical 
distinction  between  the  products  of  the  brain,  when  put  in  the 
concrete  form  of  books  and  multiplied  by  the  art  of  printing, 
and  the  land  or  other  property  which  is  held  by  common  law 
tenure.  Society  views  the  absolute  or  exclusive  property  in 
books  or  inventions  as  a  monopoly.  While  a  monopoly  may 
be  justified  for  a  reasonable  number  of  years,  on  the  obvious 
ground  of  securing  to  their  originators  the  pecuniary  benefit 
of  their  own  ideas,  a  perpetual  monopoly  is  generally  regarded 
as  odious  and  unjust.  Hence  society  says  to  the  author  or 
inventor:  "Put  your  ideas  into  material  form,  and  we  will 
guarantee  you  the  exclusive  right  to  multiply  and  sell  your 
books  or  your  machines  for  a  term  long  enough  to  secure  a 
fair  reward  to  you  and  to  your  children  ;  after  that  period  we 
want  your  monopoly,  with  its  individual  benefits,  to  cease  in 
favor  of  the  greatest  good  of  all."  If  this  appears  unfair  to 
authors,  who  contribute  so  greatly  to  the  instruction  and  the 
advancement  of  mankind,  it  is  to  be  considered  that  a  per- 
petual copyright  would  (i)  largely  enhance  the  cost  of  books, 
which  should  be  most  widely  diffused  for  the  public  benefit, 
prolonging  the  enhanced  cost  indefinitely  beyond  the  author's 
lifetime ;  (2)  it  would  benefit  by  a  special  privilege,  pro- 
longed without  limit,  a  class  of  book  manufacturers  or  pub- 
lishers who  act  as  middle-men  between  the  author  and  the 
public,  and  who  own,  in  most  cases,  the  entire  property  in  the 
works  of  authors  deceased,  and  which  they  did  not  originate  ; 
(3)  it  would  amount  in  a  few  centuries  to  so  vast  a  sum,  taxed 
upon  the  community  who  buy  books,  that  the  publishers  of 
Shakespeare's  works,  for  example,  who  under  perpetual  copy- 
right could  alone  print  the  poet's  writings,  would  have  reaped 
colossal  fortunes  unequaled  by  any  private  wealth  yet  amassed 
in  the  world. 

If  it  is  said  that  copyright,  thus  limited,  is  a  purely  arbi- 
trary right,  it  may  be  answered  that  all  legal  provisions  are 


148  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

arbitrary.  That  which  is  an  absolute  or  natural  right,  so  long 
as  held  in  idea  or  in  manuscript,  becomes,  when  given  to  the 
world  in  multiplied  copies,  the  creature  of  law.  The  most 
that  authors  can  fairly  claim  is  a  sufficiently  prolonged  exclu- 
sive right  to  guarantee  them  for  a  lifetime  the  just  reward  of 
their  labors,  with,  perhaps,  a  reversion  for  their  immediate 
heirs.  That  such  exclusive  rights  should  run  to  their  remotest 
posterity,  or,  a  fortiori,  to  mere  merchants  or  artificers  who 
had  no  hand  whatever  in  the  creation  of  the  intellectual  work 
thus  protected,  would  be  manifestly  unjust.  The.  judicial 
tribunals,  both  in  England  and  America,  have  held  that  copy- 
right laws  do  not  affirm  an  existing  right,  but  create  a  right, 
with  special  privileges  not  before  existing,  and  also  with 
special  limitations. 

To  return  to  the  provisions  of  the  earliest  copyright  enact- 
ment of  1790 — granting  the  exclusive  privilege  of  printing 
his  work  to  the  author  or  his  assigns  for  14+14,  or  twenty- 
eight  years  in  all :  it  prohibited  all  others  from  printing,  pub- 
lishing or  selling  the  same  work,  under  penalty  of  forfeiture  of 
every  copy  to  the  author  or  proprietor,  and  the  further  penalty 
of  fifty  cents  for  every  printed  sheet  found  in  possession  of  the 
offender  or  exposed  to  sale.  This  latter  pecuniary  penalty  was 
found  in  practice  to  entail  the  payment  of  damages  to  such 
heavy  amounts  that  they  could  not  be  enforced  in  many  cases, 
and  the  law  was  changed  to  provide  for  the  awarding  of  such 
damages,  for  violation  of  copyright,  as  may  be  recovered  on 
trial  of  the  case. 

The  act  further  required  (i)  entry  of  the  title,  before  publica- 
tion, in  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  United  States  District  Court 
in  the  State  where  the  author  or  proprietor  resided  ;  (2)  an  entry 
fee  of  sixty  cents  for  recording,  and  sixty  cents  for  a  copy  of 
the  record,  or  $1.20  in  all ;  (3)  an  advertisement  of  the  copy  of 
record  of  each  title,  by  author  or  proprietor,  in  some  news- 
paper for  the  space  of  four  weeks  ;  (4)  the  deposit  of  a  copy  of 
each  publication  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  at 
Washington  within  six  months  from  date  of  issue. 

This  remained  the  law,  with  slight  amendment,  until  1831, 
when  a  new  copyright  act  extended  the  duration  of  copyright 
from  fourteen  to  twenty-eight  years  for  the  original,  or  first 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  149 

term,  with  right  of  renewal  to  the  author  (now  first  extended 
to  his  widow  or  children,  in  case  of  his  decease)  for  fourteen 
additional  years,  making  forty -two  years  in  all. 

By  the  same  act  the  privilege  of  copyright  was  extended  to 
cover  musical  compositions,  as  it  had  been  earlier  extended 
(in  1 802)  to  include  designs,  engravings,  and  etchings.  Copy- 
right was  further  extended  in  1856  to  dramatic  compositions, 
and  in  1865  to  photographs  and  negatives  thereof.  In  1870  a 
new  copyright  code,  to  take  the  place  of  all  existing  and 
scattered  statutes,  was  enacted,  and  there  were  added  to  the 
lawful  subjects  of  copyright,  paintings,  drawings,  chromos, 
statues,  statuary,  and  models  or  designs  intended  to  be  per- 
fected as  works  of  the  fine  arts.  And  finally,  by  act  of 
March  3,  1891,  the  benefits  of  copyright  were  extended  so  as 
to  embrace  foreign  authors,  coupled  with  securing  to  American 
authors  full  copyright  in  such  foreign  countries  as  may  extend 
copyright  privileges  to  Americans. 

The  law  of  copyright,  as  codified  by  act  of  July  8,  1870, 
made  an  epoch  in  the  copyright  system  of  the  United  States. 
It  transferred  the  entire  registry  of  books  and  other  publica- 
tions, under  copyright  law,  to  the  city  of  Washington,  and 
made  the  librarian  of  Congress  sole  register  of  copyrights, 
instead  of  the  clerks  of  the  District  Courts  of  the  United 
States.  Manifold  reasons  existed  for  this  radical  change,  and 
those  which  were  most  influential  with  Congress  in  making  it 
were  the  following : 

i .  The  transfer  of  the  copyright  records  to  Washington  it 
was  foreseen  would  concentrate  and  simplify  the  business,  and 
this  was  a  cardinal  point.  Prior  to  1870  there  were  between 
forty  and  fifty  separate  and  distinct  authorities  for  issuing 
copyrights.  The  American  people  were  annually  put  to  much 
trouble  and  expense  to  find  out  where  to  apply,  in  the  compli- 
cated system  of  District  Courts,  several  of  them  frequently  in 
a  single  State,  to  enter  titles  for  publication.  They  were 
required  to  make  entry  in  the  district  where  the  applicant 
resided,  and  this  was  frequently  a  matter  of  doubt,  involving 
special  inquiry.  Moreover,  they  were  required  to  go  to  the 
expense  and  trouble  of  transmitting  a  copy  of  the  work,  after 
publication,  to  the  District  clerk,  and  another  copy  to  the 


150  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

Library  of  Congress.  If  both  copies  were  mailed  to  Washing- 
ton at  once,  this  double  duty  would  be  diminished  by  half. 
Next,  the  books  would  be  received  at  Washington  while  fresh 
from  the  press,  instead  of,  as  formerly,  several  months  after 
issue,  or  not  at  all.  Then  the  copyright  records  would  be  con- 
stantly at  hand,  where  the  publications  to  which  they  relate 
were  deposited.  This  would  simplify  and  facilitate  reference 
to  the  greatest  possible  degree.  In  the  then  existing  compli- 
cated system,  a  person  seeking  to  establish  the  validity  of  a 
copyright  must  sometimes  go  to  two  or  three  widely  separated 
localities  to  verify  the  various  points  of  evidence,  and  would 
perhaps  fail  at  last  from  the  very  imperfect  manner  in  which 
the  law  regarding  copyright  entries  and  deposits  was  executed. 

How  much  less  is  the  time  and  trouble  required  to  transact 
the  business  through  the  mails,  instead  of  dispatching  a  special 
messenger  with  each  title  for  entry  and  each  book  for  deposit, 
it  needs  but  a  moment's  consideration  to  perceive.  Out  of  the 
many  thousands  of  authors  and  proprietors  of  copyrights  in 
the  United  States,  it  is  probable  that  less  than  two  hundred 
resided  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  a  District  clerk's  office. 
The  unnecessary  delays  and  expenses,  therefore,  in  the  regis- 
try and  deposit  of  copyright  publications,  were  clearly  much 
greater  under  the  once  existing  system  than  under  a  uniform 
system  of  registry  at  Washington,  as  in  the  parallel  case  of 
patents,  which  have  been  registered  in  one  central  office  at  the 
seat  of  government  from  the  beginning. 

2.  The  advantage  of  securing  to  our  national  library  a  com- 
plete collection  of  all  American  copyright  publications  can 
scarcely  be  over-estimated.  If  such  a  law  as  that  enacted  in 
1870  had  been  enforced  since  the  beginning  of  the  government, 
we  should  now  have  in  the  Library  of  Congress  a  complete 
representation  of  the  product  of  the  American  mind  in  every 
department  of  science  and  literature.  Many  publications 
which  are  printed  in  small  editions,  or  which  become  ' '  out  of 
print"  from  the  many  accidents  which  continually  destroy 
books,  would  owe  to  such  a  library  their  sole  chance  of  preser- 
vation. We  ought  to  have  one  comprehensive  library  in  the 
country,  and  that  belonging  to  the  nation,  whose  aim  it  should 
be  to  preserve  the  books  which  other  libraries  have  not  the 
room  nor  the  means  to  procure. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  151 

3.  This  consideration  assumes  additional  weight  when  it  is 
remembered  that  the  Library  of  Congress  is  freely  open  to  the 
public  throughout  the  year,  and  is  rapidly  becoming  the  great 
reference  library  of  the  country,  resorted  to  not  only  by  Con- 
gress and  the  residents  of  Washington,  but  by  students  and 
writers  from  all  parts  of  the  Union,  in  search  of  references  and 
authorities  not  elsewhere  to  be  found.     Its  complete  catalogue 
system  lends  an  additional  value  to  its  stores.    The  advantage 
of  having  all  American  publications  thoroughly  catalogued 
and  accessible  upon  inquiry  is  one  which  it  may  require  some 
reflection  fully  to  appreciate,  but  which  would  be  an  invaluable 
aid  to  thousands.    Its  effect  would  be  to  build  up  at  Washing- 
ton a  truly  national  library,  approximately  complete  and  freely 
open  to  all  the  people. 

4.  It  was  urged  with  reason  that  the  proposed  reform  of 
the  unsatisfactory  methods  of  recording  and  perfecting  copy- 
rights  would    take    away  the   objections   so   freely   brought 
against  the  law.     It  was  complained  of  by  authors  and  pub- 
lishers (and  upon  valid  grounds)  that  they  were  put  to  much 
trouble  and  some  expense  to  secure  a  privilege  of  uncertain 
value.     There  were  so  many  points  required  to  be  complied 
with  to  perfect  a   copyright  title,  and  these  points  were  so 
subject  to  the  mistakes  and  omissions  of  many  officials  con- 
cerned, as  well  as  to  those  of  the  author  or  proprietor,  that  it 
might  be  said  of  most  copyrights  taken  out  that  they  rested 
under  a  cloud,  which   an   ingenious  or  unscrupulous  person 
might  take  advantage  of  to  invalidate  them.    In  the  first  place, 
the  deposit  of  a  copy  of  the  publication  in  the  office  of  the 
clerk  of  the  District  Court  was  frequently  neglected,  and  this 
omission  invalidated  the  copyright.     Secondly,  the  records  of 
the  District  clerk's  office  were  often  so  imperfectly  kept  as  to 
show  no  deposit  of  the  publication  even  when  made,  and  this 
might  invalidate  the  copyright.     Thirdly,  the  transmission  of 
a  second  copy  to  the  Library  of  Congress  was  very  frequently 
neglected,  as  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  more  than  one  thousand 
requisitions  for  publications,  whose  proprietors  had  not  com- 
plied with  the  law,  had  been  issued  in  a  single  year ;  and  in 
each  of  these  instances  the  copyright  was  void  until  the  law 
was  complied  with.     And  what  motive  had  the  publishers  to 


152  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

use  more  zeal  in  complying  with  the  law  and  transmitting 
copies  of  their  publications  through  the  District  clerks  to  the 
Patent  Office,  when  they  saw  that  the  books  were  thenceforth 
lost  and  buried,  so  that  not  even  their  authors,  or  the  owners 
of  the  copyrights  could  find  them  again  ? 

5.  The  proposed  change,  it  was  urged,  would  be  a  great 
economy  for  the  government.  It  saved  the  Patent  Office  the 
trouble,  expense  and  room  of  providing  for  a  great  library  of 
material  which  it  could  not  use  and  did  not  want.  It  left  its. 
officers  and  its  space  free  to  be  concentrated  upon  the  great 
and  rapidly-growing  inventive  art  of  the  country.  A  copy- 
right is  not  an  invention  or  a  patent ;  it  is  a  contribution  to 
literature.  It  is  not  material,  but  intellectual,  and  has  no 
natural  relation  to  a  department  which  is  charged  with  the 
care  of  the  mechanic  arts  ;  and  it  belongs  rather  to  a  national 
library  system  than  to  any  other  department  of  the  civil 
service.  The  responsibility  of  caring  for  it  would  be  an 
incident  to  the  similar  labors  already  devolved  upon  the 
librarian  of  Congress  ;  and  the  receipts  from  copyright  cer- 
tificates would  much  more  than  pay  its  expense,  thus  leaving 
the  treasury  the  gainer  by  the  change. 

These  considerations  prevailed  with  Congress  to  effect  the 
amendment  in  copyright  registration  referred  to.  The  Com- 
missioner of  Patents,  then  Hon.  Samuel  S.  Fisher,  gave  his 
hearty  cooperation  to  the  measure,  and  the  Hon.  Thomas  A. 
Jenckes  of  Rhode  Island,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Patents,  which  had  charge  of  the  whole  matter,  lent  the 
resources  of  his  active  and  vigilant  mind  to  formulating  the 
law,  to  answering  objections,  and  to  carrying  the  measure 
through  Congress. 

By  the  enactment  of  the  statute  of  1870  all  the  defects  in  the 
methods  of  registration  and  deposit  of  copies  were  obviated. 
The  original  records  of  copyright  in  all  the  States  were  trans- 
ferred to  Washington,  and  all  records  of  copyright  entry  were 
thenceforward  kept  in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress. 
All  questions  as  to  literary  property,  involving  a  search  of 
records  to  determine  points  of  validity,  such  as  priority 
of  entry,  names  of  actual  owners,  transfers  or  assignments, 
timely  deposit  of  the  required  copies,  etc.,  could  be  determined 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS.  153 

upon  inquiry  at  a  single  office  of  record.  These  inquiries  are 
extremely  numerous,  and  obviously  very  important,  involving 
frequently  large  interests  in  valuable  publications  in  which 
litigation  to  establish  the  rights  of  authors,  publishers  or 
infringers  has  been  commenced  or  threatened.  By  the  full 
records  of  copyright  entries  thus  preserved,  moreover,  the 
Library  of  Congress  (which  is  the  property  of  the  nation)  has 
been  enabled  to  secure  what  was  before  unattainable,  namely, 
an  approximately  complete  collection  of  all  American  books, 
etc.,  protected  by  copyright,  since  the  legislation  referred  to 
went  into  effect.  The  system  has  been  found  in  practice  to 
give  general  satisfaction ;  the  manner  of  securing  copyright 
has  been  made  plain  and  easy  to  all,  the  office  of  record  being 
now  a  matter  of  public  notoriety  ;  and  the  test  of  experience 
during  twenty  years  has  established  the  system  so  thoroughly 
that  none  would  be  found  to  favor  a  return  to  the  former 
methods. 

The  Act  of  1870  provided  for  the  removal  of  the  collection 
of  copyright  books  and  other  publications  from  the  over- 
crowded Patent  Office  to  the  Library  of  Congress.  These 
publications  were  the  accumulations  of  about  eighty  years, 
received  from  the  United  States  District  Clerks'  offices  by  the 
Department  of  State  and  at  the  Patent  Office,  under  the  old 
law.  By  request  of  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  all  the  law 
books  and  a  large  number  of  technical  works  were  reserved  at 
the  Department  of  the  Interior.  The  residue,  when  removed 
to  the  Capitol,  were  found  to  number  23,070  volumes,  a  much 
smaller  number  than  had  been  anticipated,  in  view  of  the 
length  of  time  during  which  the  copy  tax  had  been  in  opera- 
tion. But  the  observance  of  the  acts  requiring  deposits  of 
copyright  publications  with  the  Clerks  of  the  United  States 
District  Courts  had  been  very  defective  (no  penalty  being  pro- 
vided for  non-compliance),  and,  moreover,  the  Patent  Office 
had  failed  to  receive  from  the  offices  of  original  deposit  large 
numbers  of  publications  which  should  have  been  sent  to  Wash- 
ington. From  one  of  the  oldest  States  in  the  Union  not  a 
single  book  had  been  sent  in  evidence  of  copyright.  The 
books,  however,  which  were  added  to  the  Congressional 
Library,  although  consisting  largely  of  school  books  and  the 


154  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

minor  literature  of  the  last  half  century,  comprised  many 
valuable  additions  to  the  collection  of  American  books,  which 
it  should  be  the  aim  of  a  National  Library  to  render  complete. 
Among  them  were  the  earliest  editions  of  the  works  of  many 
well-known  writers,  now  out  of  print  and  scarce. 

The  first  book  ever  entered  for  copyright  privileges  under 
the  laws  of  the  United  States  was  ' '  The  Philadelphia  Spelling 
Book,"  which  was  registered  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District 
of  Pennsylvania,  June  9,  1790,  by  John  Barry  as  author.  The 
spelling  book  was  a  fit  introduction  to  the  long  series  of  books 
since  produced  to  further  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  among 
men.  The  second  book  entered  was  "The  American  Geogra- 
phy," by  Jedediah  Morse,  entered  in  the  District  of  Massachu- 
setts on  July  10,  1790,  a  copy  of  which  is  preserved  in  the 
Library  of  Congress.  The  earliest  book  entered  in  the  State 
of  New  York  was  on  the  3oth  of  April,  1791,  and  it  was 
entitled  "The  Young  Gentleman's  and  Lady's  Assistant,  by 
Donald  Fraser,  Schoolmaster." 

It  should  not  be  inferred,  from  the  foregoing  recital,  that  no 
copyrights  were  granted  in  America  prior  to  the  act  put  in 
operation  by  the  general  government  in  1790  ;  on  the  contrary, 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  had  both,  through  their  legis- 
latures, granted  copyrights  to  authors  for  a  term  running  to 
twenty-one  years.  This  was  in  1783  ;  and  in  the  same  year 
Mr.  Madison  offered  a  resolution  in  the  Congress  of  the  Con- 
federation (which  had  no  legislative  powers)  recommending  to 
the  several  States  to  pass  acts  securing  copyrights  to  authors 
for  the  term  of  fourteen  years.  In  1785  Virginia,  acting  in 
accordance  with  this  recommendation,  passed  a  copyright  law, 
and  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  in  1786,  followed  with 
statutory  provisions  securing  a  fourteen  years'  copyright  to 
authors. 

But  none  of  these  various  copyright  enactments  could  operate 
to  secure  any  protection  to  authors  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
State  in  which  they  lived.  It  was  necessarily  reserved  to  a 
government  embracing  all  the  States  within  its  paramount 
constitutional  functions  to  give  such  protection  to  authors  as 
should  avail  them  throughout  the  United  States. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE  CONGRESS.  155 

Objection  has  occasionally,  though  rarely,  been  made  to  what 
is  known  as  the  copy-tax,  by  which  two  copies  of  each  publica- 
tion must  be  deposited  in  the  National  Library.  This  require- 
ment rests  upon  two  valid  grounds:  (i)  The  preservation  of 
copies  of  everything  protected  by  copyright  is  necessary  in  the 
interest  of  authors  and  publishers,  in  evidence  of  copyright,  and 
in  aid  of  identification  in  connection  with  the  record  of  title  ;  (2) 
the  library  of  the  government  (which  is  that  of  the  whole  people) 
should  possess  and  permanently  preserve  a  complete  collection  of 
the  products  of  the  American  press,  so  far  as  secured  by  copy- 
right. The  government  makes  no  unreasonable  exaction  in  say- 
ing to  authors  and  publishers  :  "  The  nation  gives  you  exclusive 
right  to  make  and  sell  your  publication,  without  limit  of  quantity, 
for  forty-two  years ;  give  the  nation  in  return  two  copies,  one  for 
the  use  and  reference  of  Congress  and  the  public  in  the  National 
Library,  the  other  for  preservation  in  the  copyright  archives,  in 
perpetual  evidence  of  your  right." 

In  view  of  the  valuable  monopoly  conceded  by  the  public,  does 
not  the  government  in  effect  give  far  more  than  a  quid  pro  quo 
for  the  copy-tax  ?  Of  course  it  would  not  be  equitable  to  exact 
even  one  copy  of  publications  not  secured  by  copyright  (the  daily 
newspapers,  for  example),  in  which  case  the  government  gives 
nothing  and  gets  nothing ;  but  the  exaction  of  actually  protected 
publications,  while  it  is  unfelt  by  publishers,  is  so  clearly  in  the 
interest  of  the  public  intelligence,  as  well  as  of  authors  and  pub- 
lishers themselves,  that  no  valid  objection  to  it  appears  to  exist. 
In  Great  Britain  five  copies  of  every  book  protected  by  copyright 
are  required  for  five  different  libraries,  which  appears  somewhat 
unreasonable. 

Regarding  the  right  of  renewal  of  the  term  of  copyright,  it  is  a 
significant  fact  that  it  is  availed  of  in  comparatively  few  instances, 
compared  with  the  whole  body  of  publications.  Multitudes  of 
books  are  published  which  not  only  never  reach  a  second  edition, 
but  the  sale  of  which  does  not  exhaust  more  than  a  small  part  of 
the  copies  printed  of  the  first.  In  these  cases  the  right  of  renewal 
is  waived  and  suffered  to  lapse,  from  defect  of  commercial  value 
in  the  work  protected.  In  many  other  cases  the  right  of  renewal 
expires  before  the  author  or  his  assigns  bethink  them  of  the  privi- 
lege secured  to  them  under  the  law.  It  results  that  more  than 


156  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

nine-tenths,  probably,  of  all  books  published  are  free  to  any  one 
to  print,  without  reward  or  royalty  to  their  authors,  after  a  very 
few  year&  have  elapsed.  On  the  other  hand,  the  exclusive  right 
in  some  publications  of  considerable  commercial  value  is  kept 
alive  far  beyond  the  forty-two  years  included  in  the  original  and 
the  renewal  term,  by  entry  of  new  editions  of  the  work,  and 
securing  copyright  on  the  same.  While  this  method  may  not 
protect  any  of  the  original  work  from  republication  by  others, 
it  enables  the  publishers  of  the  copyright  edition  to  advertise  such 
unauthorized  reprints  as  imperfect,  and  without  the  author's  or 
editor's  latest  revision  or  additions. 

The  whole  number  of  entries  of  copyright  in  the  United  States 
since  we  became  a  nation  considerably  exceeds  three-quarters  of 
a  million.  This  is  no  place  for  detailed  statistics  of  the  extensive 
and  steadily  growing  copyright  business  of  the  country.  It  may, 
however,  be  of  interest  to  give  the  aggregate  number  of  titles 
of  publications  entered  for  copyright  in  each  year  since  the  trans- 
fer of  the  entire  records  to  Washington  in  1870: 

1870 5,600        1877 15,758        1884 26,893 


1871.. 
1872.. 

....12,688 
..14,  164. 

1878. 
l87Q. 

15,798 
18,125 

I885. 
1886 

28,410 
,..71.  24.1 

/ 

1871.  • 

**T>  *  ^~"-f 
..IS,  7^2 

w/  y 
1880 

k  •  *  A  V/J  J.  AfQ 

20  686 

1887. 

..  -2  c  08  ^ 

/  o 

1874... 

o>oo 
..16.28^ 

1881 

.21  O7S 

1888. 

•••oo»w'-'o 

-*8  22^ 

1  w/  T-'  • 

1875.. 
1876.. 

•  •  •  •  AW  )4*\J  £ 

....14,364 
....14,882 

1882. 
1883. 

22,918 
25,273 

1889. 
1890. 

•••O^'^^D 
40,777 
42,758 

Total 476,353 

The  reduced  number  of  copyrights  registered  in  1875  and  years 
immediately  following  was  due  to  the  transfer  to  the  Patent  Office, 
by  Act  of  June  18,  1874,  of  the  registration  of  all  labels  and  prints 
illustrative  of  articles  of  manufacture.  These  had  been,  from  the 
beginning  of  the  government,  entered  as  copyrights,  thus  en- 
cumbering the  records  with  a  great  mass  of  so-called  publications 
which  have  no  relation  whatever  to  literary  copyright,  but  belong 
to  the  mechanic  arts.  The  number  of  these  entries  was  about 
5,000  annually,  and,  notwithstanding  their  withdrawal,  the  increase 
in  the  aggregate  of  other  publications  has  been  so  large  as  to 
exhibit  the  greatly  advanced  progress  in  the  publishing  activities 
of  the  country  above  recorded. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  157 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  this  great  number  of  copyrights 
(now  about  twice  as  large  as  the  annual  average  registry  of 
patents)  does  not  represent  books  alone.  Many  thousands  of 
entries  are  periodicals  claiming  copyright  protection,  in  which 
case  they  are  required  by  law  to  make  entry  of  every  separate 
issue.  These  include  a  multitude  of  weekly  journals,  literary, 
scientific,  religious,  pictorial,  technical,  commercial,  agricultural, 
sporting,  dramatic,  etc.,  among  which  are  a  number  in  foreign 
languages.  The  entries  of  periodicals  also  embrace  nearly  all  the 
leading  monthly  and  quarterly  magazines  and  reviews,  with  many 
devoted  to  specialties — as  metaphysics,  sociology,  law,  theology, 
art,  finance,  education,  and  the  arts  and  sciences  generally.  An- 
other large  class  of  copyright  entries  (and  the  largest  next  to 
books  and  periodicals)  is  musical  compositions,  numbering  re- 
cently some  8,000  publications  yearly.  Much  of  this  property  is 
valuable,  and  it  is  nearly  all  protected  by  entry  of  copyright, 
coming  from  all  parts  of  the  Union.  There  is  also  a  large  and 
constantly  increasing  number  of  works  of  graphic  art,  comprising 
engravings,  photographs,  photogravures,  chromos,  lithographs, 
etchings,  prints,  and  drawings,  for  which  copyright  is  entered. 
The  steady  accumulation  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  these  vari- 
ous pictorial  illustrations  will  enable  the  government  at  no  distant 
day,  without  a  dollar  of  expense,  to  make  an  exhibit  of  the  prog- 
ress of  the  arts  of  design  in  America,  which  will  be  interesting 
and  instructive  in  a  high  degree.  An  art  gallery  of  ample  dimen- 
sions for  this  purpose  is  provided  for  in  the  new  National  Library 
building,  now  rapidly  rising  on  Capitol  Hill. 

It  remains  to  consider  briefly  the  principles  and  practice  of 
what  is  known  as  international  copyright. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  argument  for  copyright  at  all  in  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  intellect  which  is  not  good  for  its  extension  to  all 
countries.  The  basis  of  copyright  is  that  all  useful  labor  is  worthy 
of  a  recompense;  but  since  all  human  thought  when  put  into 
material  or  merchantable  form  becomes,  in  a  certain  sense, 
public  property,  the  laws  of  all  countries  recognize  and 
protect  the  original  owners,  or  their  assigns  to  whom  they 
may  convey  the  right,  in  an  exclusive  privilege  for  limited 
terms  only.  Literary  property  therefore  is  not  a  natural  right, 
but  a  conventional  one.  The  author's  right  to  his  manuscript  is, 


158  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

indeed,  absolute,  and  the  law  will  protect  him  in  it  as  fully  as  it 
will  guard  any  other  property.  But  when  once  put  in  type  and 
multiplied  through  the  printing-press,  his  claim  to  an  exclusive 
right  has  to  be  guarded  by  a  special  statute,  otherwise  it  is  held 
to  be  abandoned  (like  the  articles  in  any  newspaper)  to  the 
public.  This  special  protection  is  furnished  in  all  civilized 
countries  by  copyright  law. 

What  we  call  "  copyright "  is  an  exclusive  right  to  multiply 
copies  of  any  publication  for  sale.  Domestic  copyright,  which  is 
all  we  have  hitherto  had  in  this  country,  is  limited  to  the  United 
States.  International  copyright,  which  has  now  been  enacted, 
extends  the  right  of  American  authors  to  foreign  countries,  and 
recognizes  a  parallel  right  of  foreign  authors  in  our  own.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  constitutional  provision  which  restrains  Congress 
from  granting  copyright  to  other  than  American  citizens.  Patent 
right,  coming  under  the  same  clause  of  the  Constitution,  has  been 
extended  to  foreigners.  Out  of  about  20,000  patents  annually 
issued,  about  1,000  (or  5  per  cent.)  are  issued  to  foreigners, 
while  American  patents  are  similarly  protected  abroad.  If  we 
have  international  patent  right,  why  not  international  copyright? 
The  grant  of  power  is  the  same ;  both  patent  right  and  copyright 
are  for  a  limited  time ;  both  rights  during  this  time  are  exclusive  ; 
and  both  rest  upon  the  broad  ground  of  the  promotion  of  science 
and  the  useful  arts.  If  copyright  is  justifiable  at  all,  if  authors 
are  to  be  secured  a  reward  for  their  labors,  they  claim  that  all 
who  use  them  should  contribute  equally  to  this  result.  The 
principle  of  copyright  once  admitted,  it  cannot  logically  be  con- 
fined to  State  lines  or  national  boundaries.  There  appears  to  be 
no  middle  ground  between  the  doctrine  of  common  property  in 
all  productions  of  the  intellect — which  leads  us  to  communism  by 
the  shortest  road — and  the  admission  that  copyright  is  due, 
while  its  limited  term  lasts,  from  all  who  use  the  works  of  an 
author,  wherever  found. 

Accordingly,  international  copyright  has  become  the  policy  of 
nearly  all  civilized  nations.  The  term  of  copyright  is  longer  in 
most  countries  than  in  the  United  States,  ranging  from  the  life  of 
the  author  and  seven  years  beyond,  in  England,  to  a  life  term 
and  fifty  years  additional  in  France  and  Spain.  Copyright  is 
thus  made  a  life  tenure  and  something  more  in  all  countries  except 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  159 

our  own,  where  its  utmost  limit  is  forty-two  years.  This  may 
perhaps  be  held  to  represent  a  fair  average  lifetime,  reckoned 
from  the  age  of  intellectual  maturity.  There  have  not  been  want- 
ing advocates  for  a  perpetual  copyright,  to  run  to  the  author  and 
his  heirs  and  assigns  forever.  This  was  urged  before  the  British 
Copyright  Commission  in  1878  by  leading  British  publishers,  but 
the  term  of  copyright  is  hitherto,  in  all  nations,  limited  by  law. 

Only  brief  allusion  can  be  made  to  the  most  recent  (and 
in  some  respects  most  important)  advance  step  which  has 
been  taken  in  copyright  legislation  in  the  United  States.  This 
act  of  Congress,  providing  for  international  copyright  on  pre- 
scribed conditions,  was  signed  by  the  President  on  the  3d  of 
March,  1891,  and  is  aimed  at  securing  reciprocal  protection  to 
American  and  foreign  authors  in  the  respective  countries  which 
may  comply  with  its  provisions.  There  is  here  no  room  to 
sketch  the  hitherto  vain  attempts  to  secure  to  authors,  here  and 
abroad,  an  international  protection  to  their  writings.  Suffice  it  to 
say  that  a  union  of  interests  was  at  last  effected,  whereby 
authors,  publishers  and  manufacturers  are  supposed  to  have 
secured  some  measure  of  protection,  not  before  enjoyed,  to  their 
varied  interests.  The  measure  is  largely  experimental,  and  the 
satisfaction  felt  over  its  passage  into  law  is  tempered  by  doubt  in 
various  quarters  as  to  the  justice,  or  liberality,  or  actual  benefit  to 
authors  of  its  provisions.  What  is  to  be  said  of  a  statute  which 
was  denounced  by  some  Senators  as  a  long  step  backward 
toward  barbarism,  and  hailed  by  others  as  a  great  landmark  in 
the  progress  of 'civilization? 

The  main  features  added  to  the  existing  law  of  copyright  by 
this  act,  taking  effect  July  i,  1891,  are  these  : 

1.  All  limitation  of  the  privilege  of  copyright  to  citizens  and 
residents  of  the  United  States  is  repealed. 

2.  Foreigners  applying  for  copyright  are  to  pay  fees  of  $i  for 
record  or  $1.50  for  certificate  of  copyright,  instead  of  50  cents  for 
record  or  $i  for  certificate. 

3.  Importation  of  books,  photographs,  chromos  or  lithographs 
entered  here  for  copyright  is  prohibited,  except  two  copies  of  any 
book  for  use  and  not  for  sale. 

4.  The  two  copies  of  books,  photographs,  chromos  or  litho- 
graphs deposited  with  the  Librarian  of  Congress  must  be  printed 


i6o  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

from  type  set,  or  plates,  etc.,  made  in  the  United  States.  It  fol- 
lows that  all  foreign  works  protected  by  American  copyright  must 
be  wholly  manufactured  in  this  country. 

5.  The  copyright  privilege  is  restricted  to  citizens  or  subjects 
of  nations  permitting  the  benefit  of  copyright  to  Americans  on 
substantially  the  same  terms  as  their  own  citizens,  or  of  nations 
who  have  international  agreements  providing  for  reciprocity  in  the 
grant  of  copyright,  to  which  the  United  States  may  at  its  pleasure 
become  a  party. 

6.  The  benefit  of  copyright  in  the  United  States  is  not  to  take 
effect  as  to  any  foreigner  until  the  actual  existence  of  either  of  the 
conditions  just  recited,  in  the  case  of  the  nation  to  which  he 
belongs,  shall  have  been  made  known  by  a  proclamation  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States. 

There  are  some  doubtful  questions  involved  in  the  interpreta- 
tion of  the  act,  which  is  not  free  from  ambiguity,  and  which  must 
wait  for  their  solution  upon  the  construction  placed  upon  it  by 
the  judicial  tribunals.  Meanwhile,  authors  and  publishers  should 
await  the  results  of  such  measure  of  international  copyright  as  has 
been  achieved,  doing  what  they  may  to  guard  their  interests, 
while  the  experiment  is  being  fairly  tried.  A  measure  which 
was  regarded  as  worth  so  many  years  effort  to  secure  should  be 
worth  a  little  patience  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  secured  it. 

In  conclusion,  the  writers  of  America,  with  the  steady  and 
rapid  growth  of  the  art  of  making  books,  have  come  more  and 
more  to  appreciate  the  value  of  their  preservation,  in  complete 
and  unbroken  series,  in  the  library  of  the  government,  the  appro- 
priate conservator  of  the  nation's  literature.  Inclusive  and  not 
exclusive,  as  this  library  is  wisely  made  by  law,  so  far  as  copy- 
right works  are  concerned,  it  preserves  with  impartial  care  the 
illustrious  and  the  obscure.  In  its  archives  all  sciences  and  all 
schools  of  opinion  meet  and  mingle.  In  the  beautiful  and  ample 
repository,  now  being  erected  and  dedicated  to  literature  and  art 
through  the  liberality  of  Congress,  the  intellectual  wealth  of  the 
past  and  the  present  age  will  be  handed  down  to  the  ages  that 
are  to  follow. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  161 


THE   EFFECT    OF    INVENTION    UPON   THE   RAIL- 
ROAD AND  OTHER  MEANS  OF  INTERCOM- 
MUNICATION. 

BY  OCTAVE  CHANUTE,  OF  ILLINOIS,  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  AMERICAN 
SOCIETY  OF  Civil,  ENGINEERS. 


A  century  ago,  Washington  being  then  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  art  of  transportation,  both  by  land  and  by 
water,  was  practically  still  in  the  same  stage  of  development, 
as  measured  by  speed  of  transit  as  well  as  by  cost,  which  had 
prevailed  for  the  preceding  eighteen  hundred  years,  or  since 
the  establishment  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

Upon  the  sea  there  had  been,  it  is  true,  considerable  increase 
in  the  size  of  vessels,  and  some  changes  in  the  mode  of  their 
rigging,  especially  since  the  length  of  the  voyages  had  been 
increased  by  the  discovery  of  America ;  but  the  sail  was  still 
the  sole  means  of  propelling  ships,  and  the  speeds  attained 
were  little,  if  any,  greater  than  those  in  antiquity.  An  average 
progress  of  one  hundred  miles  per  day,  under  varying  con- 
ditions of  wind,  was  considered  satisfactory,  and  the  quickest 
passages  between  New  York  and  Liverpool  were  performed  in 
twenty  days,  or  at  the  rate  of  176  miles  per  day. 

Upon  the  land  there  had  been,  since  the  days  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  many  fashions  in  carriages,  but  the  common  road  was 
still  the  principal  way  traveled,  and  the  horse  was  the  power 
chiefly  used  in  transporting  passengers  and  freight.  There 
were  canals,  it  is  true,  but  the  average  speeds  were  only  two  to 
three  miles  per  hour,  and  the  charges  were  from  six  to  ten 
cents  per  ton  per  mile.  Upon  the  turnpikes  the  maximum 
speed  for  mail  coaches  was  from  eight  to  ten  miles  per  hour, 
and  a  fair  day's  travel  at  that  period  of  time  may  be  stated  as 
averaging  about  100  miles  in  twenty-four  hours. 

Extraordinary  performances  might  attain  to  twice  that 
speed.  Thus,  upon  his  disastrous  return  from  Moscow  the  first 
Napoleon,  anxious  to  reach  his  capital  in  the  shortest  possible 
time,  rode  in  his  traveling  and  sleeping  carriage  from  Smorgoni 
to  Paris,  a  distance  of  1,000  miles,  between  the  5th  and  loth  of 


1 62  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

December,  1812,  and  this  speed  of  say  200  miles  a  day  may 
be  considered  as  the  utmost  that  man,  with  unlimited  resources 
at  his  command,  could  then  accomplish  on  a  thousand  miles 
journey. 

Freight  rates  by  wagon  were  twenty-seven  cents  a  ton  a  mile 
between  London  and  Leeds,  and  thirty  cents  a  ton  a  mile  be- 
tween Liverpool  and  Manchester. 

All  this  has  been  changed  by  one  mighty  invention,  bringing 
in  its  train  a  multitude  of  other  inventions.  Steam  came  into 
the  world  to  transform  into  mechanical  energy  and  speed  the 
light  and  heat  of  past  ages,  stored  in  the  coal  during  the  car- 
boniferous period  ;  and  applications  to  various  means  of  trans- 
port soon  followed,  so  that  to-day  a  fair  day's  journey  for  a 
steamship  may  be  stated  at  400  miles,  and  runs  of  500  miles  in 
twenty-four  hours  are  not  uncommon,  while  the  distance  of 
1,000  miles,  traveled  by  Napoleon  in  five  days,  can  now  be 
done  by  rail  in  twenty-four  hours  without  the  necessity  of 
becoming  an  emperor  to  accomplish  the  feat. 

Indeed,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  characteristics  of  the 
improvements  which  have  occurred  in  methods  of  transporta- 
tion within  a  century  is  the  fact,  that  they  have  chiefly  bene- 
fited the  mass  of  the  people.  So  that  the  man  in  moderate 
circumstances  now  travels  as  rapidly  and  as  cheaply  as  the 
wealthy,  and  that  enormous  economies  have  been  accomplished 
in  the  transportation  of  freight  and  in  the  exchange  of  com- 
modities. 

All  this,  clearly,  has  been  entirely  the  effect  of  invention. 
Improvement  has  followed  upon  improvement,  because  inven- 
tion has  been  more  active  and  successful  than  at  any  period  in 
the  world's  history. 

It  would  take  much  too  long  to  pass  in  review,  even  in  the 
most  cursory  manner,  the  various  steps  through  which  this  era 
of  invention  has  passed  ;  but  now,  practically,  one  hundred 
years  after  the  commercial  acceptance  of  the  steam  engine  by 
the  industrial  world,  it  seems  a  good  time  to  inquire,  in  a  gen- 
eral way,  what  has  thus  far  been  accomplished  and  what  the 
future  may  have  in  store  for  us. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Fulton  built  the  first  commer- 
cially successful  steamboat  in  1807,  and  that  the  "Savannah  " 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  163 

was  the  first  steamship  to  cross  the  ocean  in  1819.  In  those 
days,  and  for  many  years  thereafter,  the  speeds  of  steam 
vessels  were  small,  and  the  consumption  of  fuel  was  great,  say 
four  to  ten  pounds  per  horse-power  per  hour.  Invention  has 
since  been  busy  with  the  marine  engine,  and  advancing  step 
by  step  it  has  now  reduced  the  coal  consumption  to  one  and 
three-quarter  pounds  per  horse-power  per  hour,  while  the 
speed  has  been  increased  50  per  cent.  As  stated  by  W.  C. 
Church,  the  biographer  of  Ericsson,  it  is  now  possible  to  carry 
across  the  Atlantic  2,200  tons  of  freight  with  800  tons  of  coal, 
where  it  was  in  1870  only  possible  to  carry  800  tons  of  freight 
with  2,200  tons  of  coal. 

This  is  the  result,  it  need  scarcely  be  said,  of  the  substitu- 
tion of  the  screw-propeller  for  the  paddle-wheel,  of  surface 
condensation,  of  high  steam  pressures,  and  double,  triple  and 
now  quadruple  expansion  ;  each  of  them  a  successive  step 
resulting  in  such  growth,  that  steamers  now  plow  every  sea, 
and  their  aggregate  tonnage  is  nearly  as  large  as  that  of  the 
sailing  vessels. 

The  following  table,  compiled  from  data  published  in  con- 
nection with  the  large  model  of  the  globe  at  the  Paris  Exposi- 
tion of  1889,  exhibits  the  estimated  number  of  sailing  vessels 
and  steamships  now  belonging  to  the  various  nations  of  the 
world  : 

MARINE  OF  PRINCIPAL  NATIONS. 


COUNTRY. 

England 

SAILING  VESSELS. 
No.              Tonnage. 
'4,030      4,510,000 

5,900     1,975,000 
2,050        363,000 
3,660     1,345,000 
1,910        390,000 
2,190        796,000 
2,700        782,000 
1,410        262,000 
2,150        464,000 
910        261,000 
1,380        279,000 

STEAMSHIPS. 
No.             Tonnage. 
4,870      6,592,000 
400           532,000 
430           722,000 
270           150,000 
370           149,000 
540           628,000 

180        243,000 
340        388,000 

220           159,000 

160        198,000 

United  States.... 
France  

Norway 

Sweden  

Germany  

Italy  

Spain  

Russia 

Holland 

Greece  

Austria  .... 

no 

170 
650 

143,000 
125,000 

597,000 

Denmark  

910 

3,040 

261,000 
740,000 

Other  countries.. 

1 64  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

It  is  a  source  of  regret  that  the  United  States  has  not  main- 
tained upon  the  sea  the  rank  which  it  occupied  earlier  in  the 
century.  It  is  now  the  second  in  sailing  vessels  and  the  fourth 
as  to  steamships  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Many  reasons 
have  been  assigned  for  this  state  of  affairs,  chief  among  which 
are  probably  our  navigation  laws  and  the  higher  scale  of 
wages  which  prevails  in  this  country,  while  vessels  engaged  in 
the  ocean  trade  have  to  compete  with  all  nations. 

It  is  just  possible  that  some  labor-saving  inventions,  ap- 
plicable to  steamship  service,  may  diminish  the  relative  im- 
portance of  the  wages  upon  the  aggregate  cost,  and  eventually 
enable  us  to  occupy  upon  the  sea  the  same  position  in  the 
world's  advance,  that  the  railway  has  given  us  upon  the  land. 

THE  RAILWAY. 

In  discussing  the  effect  of  invention  upon  the  railroad,  it  may 
be  interesting  to  allude  to  its  early  history,  which  is  now  being 
forgotten. 

It  seems  to  be  popularly  supposed  that  the  railway  dates  no 
further  back  than  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway  in 
1829.  This,  to  be  sure,  was  the  first  great  success  and  com- 
mercial recognition,  but  railways,  like  most  human  inventions, 
had  previously  gone  through  a  process  of  experiment,  evolu- 
tion and  improvement,  which  prepared  the  way  for  the  final 
result. 

Tramways  had  been  used  in  operating  coal  mines  in  Eng- 
land for  many  years.  They  were  crude  structures,  generally 
laid  with  cast-iron  plates  or  rails  about  three  feet  long,  and 
worked  by  horse-power. 

Trevithic  built  a  fairly  good  locomotive  in  1804,  but  the 
road  was  not  strong  enough  to  carry  it,  and  it  was  speedily 
abandoned.  Stephenson  built  his  first  locomotive  in  1814,  and 
he  gradually  improved  upon  its  construction  in  subsequent 
locomotives  placed  upon  the  coal  tramway  with  which  he  was 
connected,  until  an  opportunity  was  offered  of  embodying  his 
skill  and  experience  in  the  three  locomotives  furnished  to  the 
Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway,  of  which  he  became  the 
engineer. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  165 

This  was  practically  the  first  line  built  for  public  use  and 
intended  to  convey  freight  and  passengers.  It  was  twelve 
miles  long,  and  its  opening,  September  27,  1825,  marks  the 
beginning  of  the  present  railway  era. 

Although  it  was  a  great  advance  upon  what  had  been  done 
before,  its  construction  was  still  crude  and  left  plenty  of  room 
for  subsequent  invention.  About  half  of  the  track  was  laid 
with  cast-iron  rails,  and  the  remainder  with  wrought-iron  rails, 
weighing  twenty-eight  pounds  to  the  yard.  These  were  of  the 
"  fish-bellied  "  pattern,  being  two  inches  in  depth  at  the  joints, 
where  they  rested  upon  chairs,  and  three  and  one-quarter 
inches  deep  in  the  middle  or  bellied  part ;  the  top  of  the  rail 
being  two  and  one-quarter  inches  broad,  with  the  flange  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  thick. 

I  remember  seeing  rails  of  this  pattern  still  in  use  on  a  side 
track  at  Hast  Albany  in  1851,  it  having  been  the  impression  at 
an  early  day  among  engineers  that  the  best  results  were  to 
be  obtained  with  rails,  by  following  the  practice  which  pre- 
vailed for  cast-iron  girders. 

For  some  years  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Railroad  was 
worked  in  a  mixed  sort  of  way,  by  both  horses  and  locomo- 
tives. The  latter  ran  at  speeds  of  four  to  six  miles  per  hour, 
although  occasional  performances  of  twelve  to  fourteen  miles 
per  hour  are  recorded,  and  it  was  not  till  1829,  when  at  the 
public  competition  of  locomotives  for  the  Liverpool  and  Man- 
chester Railway,  the  "  Rocket,"  built  by  Stephenson,  attained 
a  speed  of  twenty-nine  miles  per  hour,  and  the  "  Novelty,"  by 
Ericsson,  ran  at  twenty-eight  miles  per  hour,  that  the  merits 
of  steam  for  railway  propulsion  became  fully  recognized,  and 
that  the  active  nations  of  the  world  began  commercially  the 
construction  and  operation  of  railwaj^s. 

This  commercial  movement  at  once  enormously  stimulated 
invention,  and  a  host  of  ingenious  men  took  up  the  various 
problems  connected  with  the  railways.  Experiment  and  im- 
provement rapidly  followed  each  other,  and  a  large  number  of 
inventions  and  devices  were  introduced  in  all  departments, 
including  the  track,  the  motive  power,  the  rolling  stock,  and 
the  organization. 

Indeed,  these  devices  and  inventions  were  so  numerous,  that 
many  which  were  fairly  good  have  since  been  eliminated. 


1 66  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

Thus  Messrs.  Zerah  Colburn  and  Alexander  L,.  Holley,  in 
their  report  upon  the  ' '  Permanent  Way  of  Kuropean  Rail- 
ways," -in  1858,  described  and  figured  no  less  than  sixteen 
systems  of  Knglish  track  as  the  principal  types  of  what  had 
been  tried,  and  of  these  but  three  have  survived. 

For  the  sleepers  or  ties,  stone  blocks  were  used  and  found 
too  rigid ;  timber  was  laid,  both  as  longitudinal  stringers  and 
as  cross-ties,  and  many  forms  of  cast-iron  sleepers  had  been 
experimented  with  before  any  cross- tie  system,  whether  of 
wood  or  of  metal,  became  universally  accepted. 

For  rails,  after  the  "fish-bellied,"  came  the  strap  rail  and 
its  attendant  snake  heads.  Then  followed  the  edge  rail, 
whether  double-headed  or  with  a  flat  foot,  the  inverted  "  U  " 
rail,  the  "saddle-backed"  rail  bearing  directly  upon  the 
ballast,  and  a  whole  host  of  compound  rails  in  several  pieces, 
together  with  an  almost  endless  variety  of  joints,  from  the 
cast-iron  chair  to  the  fish-plate,  until  the  present  time,  when 
the  double-headed  rail  still  obtains  favor  in  Europe,  while  the 
foot  rail  is  uniformly  used  in  this  country  ;  there  being  in  all 
countries  considerably  less  diversity  of  practice  than  there  was 
in  1858. 

In  locomotives  almost  numberless  experiments  have  been 
tried,  and  yet  the  improvement  has  been  rather  one  of  degree 
than  of  kind.  Stephenson's  "Rocket"  owed  its  superiority 
over  all  predecessors  to  the  simultaneous  introduction  in  its 
construction  of  the  multitubular  boiler,  and  of  the  steam 
exhaust  up  the  chimney  to  create  draft  over  the  fire ;  and 
these  are  still  the  distinctive  features  of  modern  locomotives. 

These  engines  are,  to  be  sure,  much  heavier,  more  simple, 
and  especially  much  more  economical  than  their  original  pro- 
totype, but  the  speeds  are  not  considerably  greater  than  were 
obtained  within  the  first  few  years  of  the  railway  era. 

In  rolling  stock,  a  long  series  of  successive  inventions  has 
largely  added  to  the  comfort  of  passengers,  and  to  the  useful 
freight  load  in  proportion  to  the  weight  of  the  car  ;  while  in 
the  organization,  improvements  in  the  methods  of  handling 
business,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  signals  and  the 
application  of  the  telegraph,  have  very  largely  increased  the 
efficiency  and  diminished  the  cost. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE   CONGRESS.  167 

And  since  the  telegraph  has  been  mentioned,  further  refer- 
ence may  be  made  to  the  marvelous  development  of  electrical 
science  and  its  applications  within  the  railroad  era.  A  century 
ago  Franklin  had  shown  the  dependence  of  certain  phenomena 
upon  electricity,  but  it  was  still  a  scientific  toy  confined  to 
laboratory  experiments.  As  soon,  however,  as  Morse,  Henry, 
Vail  and  Wheatstone  harnessed  it  to  conveying  thought,  in 
1845,  it  became  the  adjunct  and  indispensable  companion  of 
the  railway,  and  the  telegraph  line  found  its  home  upon  the 
railroad  right  of  way. 

L,ater  on  came  the  telephone  and  the  domestic  uses  of  elec- 
trictity  about  our  homes,  in  which  it  has  proved  such  a  nimble 
and  effective  servant,  until  these  latter  days  when  it  has  been 
pressed  into  service  to  convey  power  as  well  as  intelligence, 
and  is  now  applied  to  the  running  of  motors  for  hundreds  of 
purposes,  and  to  the  supplying  of  light  and  heat. 

Probably  the  most  remarkable  growth  among  these  purposes 
has  been  for  street  railroads,  of  which  nearly  3,000  miles  have 
been  opened  in  the  United  States  during  the  last  five  years, 
which  are  operated  by  electric  motors.  These  have  been  found 
so  much  more  rapid,  economical  and  capable  of  overcoming 
gradients  than  those  operated  by  animal  power,  that  the  day 
seems  not  very  distant  when  the  horse  will  be  superseded  on 
the  street  railway  line,  just  as  he  has  been  on  the  general 
traffic  railway. 

Allusion  may  also  briefly  be  made  to  the  effect  of  the  rail- 
road upon  the  art  of  bridge  building.  A  century  ago  such 
structures  were  comparatively  few  in  number,  and  a  span  of 
one  hundred  feet  was  considered  a  long  one.  Masonry  was  the 
recognized  material  with  which  to  build,  but  the  necessities  of 
the  railroad  brought  about  an  evolution,  first  with  wood  and 
then  with  iron  construction,  which  resulted  last  year  in  the 
opening  of  the  Forth  Bridge,  the  greatest  present  achievement 
in  this  art,  with  two  channel  spans  each  1,710  feet  in  the  clear, 
and  a  clear  headway  of  150  feet  under  the  bridge. 

Whether  these  tremendous  spans  are  to  remain  the  limit,  or 
whether  man  will  spin  an  iron  web  across  still  greater  dis- 
tances, will  mainly  depend  upon  the  railroad  necessities  of  the 
future,  for  it  is  only  the  concentrated  traffic  of  the  railway 
which  will  warrant  such  very  expensive  structures. 


i68 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 


Now,  let  us  inquire  as  to  what  extent  the  various  nations  of 
the  earth  have  availed  of  the  railway. 

Progress  in  civilization  may  fairly  be  said  to  be  dependent 
upon  the  facilities  for  men  to  get  about,  upon  their  opportunity 
for  intercourse  with  other  men  and  nations,  not  only  in  order 
to  supply  their  mutual  needs  cheaply,  but  to  learn  from  each 
other  their  wants,  their  discoveries  and  their  inventions. 

Prior  to  the  invention  of  the  steamer  and  of  the  railway  such 
opportunities  were  but  few,  so  that  there  have  been  ages  in  the 
world,  that  of  the  crusades  for  instance,  where  war  itself  was 
not  a  wholly  unmixed  evil,  in  consequence  of  the  beneficial 
new  ideas  which  it  introduced  among  men. 

In  order  to  arrive  at  the  railway  mileage  of  the  world  I  have 
started  from  a  table  published  in  the  last  issue  of  "Poor's 
Railroad  Manual,"  which  furnishes  the  statistics  up  to  the 
close  of  the  year  1888.  These  are  the  latest  data  available, 
and  they  have  been  compared  with  a  similar  statement  pub- 
lished in  "Archiv  fur  Kisenbahmweser "  covering  the  same 
date,  which  shows  804  miles  more  than  Poor's  table. 

From  these  tables,  knowing  the  annual  rate  of  recent  in- 
crease, which  was  63,941  miles  for  the  four  years  from  1884  to 
1888  (say  16,000  miles  a  year),  and  allowing  for  decreasing 
or  increasing  activity  in  the  various  countries,  as  chronicled 
in  the  daily  and  the  technical  press,  I  think  it  is  possible  to 
make  an  estimate  which  shall  approximate  closely  to  the 
actual  facts  on  the  ist  of  January,  1891.  Such  a  statement, 
believed  to  be  pretty  nearly  correct,  will  be  found  in  the  sub- 
joined table. 

ESTIMATED  RAILROAD  MILAGE,  JANUARY,   1891. 


r                        End  1888  Increase  Estimated 
Miles.      2  years.  1891  Miles. 

Estimated 
I,ocomo- 
tives. 

Popula  - 
Population.      U«P« 

railway 

United  States  

I55,8oi 

10,724 

166,525 

33,200 

62,600,000 

376 

Canada  

12,764 

1,236 

14,000 

2,660 

5,  300,  ooo 

378 

Mexico 

4  168 

f 

632 

4  800 

77O 

1  1  OOO  OOO 

2  2Q2 

Central  America... 

1,900 

200 

2,100 

420 

8,  100,000 

3,857 

North  America  

174,633 

12,792 

187,425 

37,050 

87,000,000 

464 

South  America  

13,850 

2,150 

16,000 

2,880 

32,000,000 

2,000 

Europe  

132,836 

8,l64 

141,000 

64  860 

347  ooo  ooo 

2  4.6l 

Asia  

17,618 

2,382 

20,000 

4  2OO 

780  ooo  ooo 

3Q  4SO 

Africa  

5,152 

848 

6,000 

060 

197,000,000 

Australia 

10,409 

2.591 

13,000 

2,340 

38,000,000 

2,933 

Totals 354,498    28,927    383,425    112,290    1,490,000,000     3,886 


PROCEEDINGS  OF    THE  CONGRESS.  169 

From  this  it  seems  to  appear  that  there  are  at  the  present 
time  383,425  miles  of  railroad  in  the  world,  operated  by 
112,290  locomotives,  without  including  street  lines  in  cities,  at 
mines  or  in  connection  with  various  industrial  enterprises.  Of 
these,  187,425  miles,  or  nearly  one-half,  are  in  North  America, 
and  the  latter,  if  placed  end  to  end,  would  reach  around  the 
earth  seven  and  one-half  times,  without  counting  the  double, 
triple  or  quadruple  tracks,  or  the  sidings.  The  total  mileage 
of  the  globe  would  encompass  it  fifteen  and  one-half  times, 
and  would  reach  more  than  one  and  a-half  times  to  the  moon 
(237,840  miles),  if  there  were  only  supporting  ground  to  lay 
the  track  upon. 

It  is  estimated  that  there  are  112,290  locomotives,  and  as  a 
fair  average  will  give  them  about  500  horse-power  each,  they 
are  seen  to  be  equivalent  to  no  less  than  56,145,000  horses. 

It  will  be  noticed  how  tardy  some  of  the  oldest  nations  have 
been  in  availing  of  this  improved  means  of  inter-communica- 
tion. The  789,000,000  inhabitants  of  Asia,  for  instance, 
have  but  20,000  miles  of  railway,  this  being  chiefly  in  British 
India.  If  the  whole  world  were  as  well  provided  for  in  this 
respect  as  North  America,  where  there  are  2,154  miles  of  rail- 
road for  each  million  inhabitants,  there  would  be  on  this  earth 
more  than  3,000,000  miles  in  the  aggregate,  or  eight  times  the 
present  mileage. 

There  is  therefore  still  a  good  deal  for  the  railway  builders 
and  organizers  to  do,  and  foreign  fields  may  yet  be  opened  to 
the  energy  of  Europeans  and  North  Americans,  should  some 
of  the  Asiatic  nations,  like  China,  for  instance,  enter  upon 
an  epoch  of  railroad  construction,  or  have  the  good  fortune, 
like  India,  to  fall  into  strong  hands. 

Perhaps  the  latter  country  exhibits  more  than  any  other  the 
beneficial  effects  of  railway  construction.  Before  the  British 
conquest  it  was  very  poor,  torn  by  internal  strifes  and  subject 
to  periodical  famines.  Now  it  is  successfully  exporting  wheat 
in  competition  with  the  United  States  and  Russia,  and  it  is 
also  supplanting  China  in  the  production  of  tea,  a  fact  as  yet 
but  little  appreciated ;  while  in  the  meantime,  wages,  though 
still  low,  have  more  than  doubled  within  the  century. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

In  Africa  there  are  6,000  miles.  We  have  all  been  following 
with  deep  interest  the  various  journeys  of  Mr.  Stanley  across 
this  continent.  Bach  of  them  occupied  nearly  three  years  of 
tremendous  effort,  and  the  thought  that  the  actual  distance 
traversed  from  coast  to  coast  could  have  been  gone  over  by  rail- 
road in  three  or  four  days,  may  cause  us  to  realize  the  economy 
of  labor  and  of  time  which  has  been  brought  into  the  world  by 
the  effects  of  invention  on  the  railroad. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  estimate  in  money,  even  approxi- 
mately, what  has  been  the  economical  effect  upon  the  world. 
There  have  been  so  many  concurrent  causes  in  the  increase  of 
wealth  that  it  seems  impracticable  to  isolate  any  one  of  them. 
We  may,  however,  gain  some  idea  by  estimating  what  the 
present  volume  of  traffic  would  cost  at  prices  prevailing  a  cen- 
tury or  less  ago,  and  for  this  purpose  we  may  select  the  United 
States. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  cost  of  freight  hauling  was  27  and 
30  cents  a  ton  a  mile  in  Hngland.  In  this  country  it  used  to 
be  20  cents  a  ton  a  mile  between  New  York  and  Buffalo  before 
the  opening  of  the  canal,  and  within  thirty-five  years  it  was 
29  cents  a  ton  a  mile  across  the  plains  from  the  Missouri  River 
to  Denver.  In  order  to  avoid  all  possible  cavil  as  to  the  cost 
being  diminished  by  increased  volume  of  traffic,  we  will  assume 
a  freight  rate  of  16  cents  a  ton  a  mile,  which  corresponds  to  the 
hauling  of  a  ton  of  goods  on  a  turnpike  twenty-five  miles  per 
day  at  an  average  cost  of  $4.00. 

For  passenger  rates  we  will  assume  that  a  century  ago  they 
were  10  cents  per  mile.  Now,  the  freight  traffic  of  the  railroads 
of  the  United  States  in  1889  was  equal  to  68,604,012,396  tons 
miles,  and  the  passenger  business  was  11,965,726,015  passen- 
gers one  mile.  If  we  carry  these  out  at  the  assumed  prices, 
and  deduct  from  the  account  (in  which  the  miscellaneous  earn- 
ings are  included  at  the  same  figure  on  both  sides  to  make  it 
complete)  the  actual  amounts  collected  by  the  railroads  from 
the  people  in  1889,  we  have  the  following  balance  sheet  : 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  171 

NATIONAL  BALANCE  SHEET  WITH  RAILROADS,  1889. 

68,604,012,396  ton  miles  of  freight,  @  i6c $10,976,641,983 

11,965,726,015  passenger  miles,  @  loc 1,196,572,601 

Miscellaneous  earnings 66, 685 , 396 


Total  earnings  at  prices  of  1791 $12,239,899,980 

Less  freight  earnings,  1889 $666,530,653 

Less  passenger  earnings,  1889...  259,640,807 

Less  miscellaneous  earn' gs,  1889.     66,685,396          992,856,856 

Estimated  national  saving $11,247,043,124 

Which  is  more  for  one  year  than  the  entire  cost  of  our  rail- 
roads, as  represented  by  their  stock,  bonded  debts,  liabilities 
and  current  amounts,  which  in  1889  aggregated  a  sum  of 
$9,931,453,146.  So  that  the  annual  saving  to  the  nation,  over 
the  prices  prevailing  in  1791,  seems  to  be  greater  than  the 
whole  capital  invested  in  railroads,  if  we  assume  the  possi- 
bility of  the  volume  of  traffic  having  been  the  same. 

This  assumption  is,  of  course,  a  fallacy,  because  the  prices 
prevailing  a  century  ago  would  have  been  largely  prohibitory, 
and  the  volume  of  traffic  would  be  much  smaller,  yet  this 
estimated  national  saving  may  bring  some  comfort  to  the 
citizens  who  think  that  the  rapidly-vanishing  railroad  rates  do 
not  go  down  fast  enough,  and  who  say  that  these  corporations 
are  impoverishing  the  people. 

We  may  also  gain  some  idea  as  to  how  greatly  the  improved 
means  of  inter-communication  have  benefited  other  countries 
which  have  availed  of  them,  by  considering  the  vastly-increased 
scale  of  national  expenditures  which  prevail  among  them,  as 
compared  with  their  national  expenses  a  century  ago.  Some  of 
them,  indeed,  are  now  enabled  to  keep  a  considerable  portion 
of  their  working  population  in  idleness,  in  their  standing 
armies,  and  yet  the  comfort  and  prosperity  of  the  remainder  is 
far  greater  than  that  of  their  people  a  hundred  years  ago,  while 
among  those  nations  in  Asia  and  Africa  which  have  failed  to 
avail  of  the  new  methods  of  transportation,  wages  are  still  very 
low,  and  occasional  famines  still  prevail. 

But  man  is  still  unsatisfied  with  what  has  been  accomplished, 
and  all  over  the  civilized  world  invention  is  still  trying  to  im- 


172  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

prove  means  of  transport.  The  sea,  the  land,  the  air,  are  being- 
experimented  upon  to  gain  higher  speeds  or  more  economical 
modes  of  transit. 

It  may  be  perhaps  doubted  whether  greater  cheapness  will 
be  attained  than  with  the  steamer  or  the  railroad,  but  it  is 
believed  that  greater  speeds  are  possible  in  the  near  future. 

On  the  sea  the  great  transatlantic  steamers  have  attained 
within  the  past  two  years  speeds  of  twenty  and  twenty-one 
knots  per  hour  ;  while  various  experimenters  hope  to  get,  with 
novel  means  of  propulsion,  the  fabulous  speed  of  thirty  to  forty 
miles  per  hour. 

Upon  the  land  inventors  calmly  talk  of  superseding  the 
present  maximum  railroad  speed  of  70  miles  an  hour  with 
velocities  of  120  to  150  miles  per  hour.  Recent  developments 
in  electrical  science  have  given  good  hopes  for  this,  and 
both  European  and  American  inventors  are  experimenting. 
Among  the  latter  may  be  mentioned  the  "  Weems  Electric  " 
system,  by  which  speeds  of  115  miles  per  hour  have  already 
been  attained  on  a  most  imperfect  track  ;  the  "  Williams  Porte- 
Electric  "  system,  of  attracting  forward  at  high  velocities,  a  rail- 
road car  forming  a  magnetic  core,  through  a  series  of  helices  or 
coils  charged  with  an  electric  current,  and  the  ' '  Chemin  de 
Fer  Glissant ' '  system  or  water  borne  railroad  cars  which  was 
exhibited  at  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1889. 

Allusion  may  be  made  to  the  "bicycle  locomotive,"  with 
which  it  is  claimed  that  far  greater  speed  can  be  obtained  than 
with  the  engines  in  general  use ;  the  principal  object  of  in- 
ventors in  every  case  seeming  to  be  to  gain  higher  velocities 
than  those  which  have  hitherto  been  found  practicable. 

In  the  air,  man  gazes  at  the  birds  and  longs  to  imitate  them. 
I  know  personally  of  eight  or  ten  perfectly  sane  men  in  the 
United  States,  in  England,  in  France,  in  Australia,  and  in 
Egypt,  who  are  experimenting  with  flying  machines — not 
dirigible  balloons,  with  which  a  measure  of  success  has  already 
been  accomplished,  although  only  low  velocities  are  to  be 
expected  from  them,  but  real  flying  machines,  depending  like 
the  birds  upon  the  reactions  of  the  air  for  their  support. 

Of  these  experimenters,  probably  the  best  equipped  is  Mr. 
Maxim,  the  inventor  of  an  electric  light  and  of  the  automatic 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  173 

machine  gun,  who  made  the  remarkable  statement  last  No- 
vember, in  a  letter  to  the  New  York  Times,  that  his  experi- 
ments show  that  as  much  as  133  pounds  may  be  sustained  in 
the  air  by  the  expenditure  of  one  horse-power ;  that  he  has 
succeeded  in  making  a  motor  which  will  develop  one  horse- 
power for  every  six  pounds  of  weight,  and  that  a  speed  of  100 
miles  per  hour  would  seem  to  be  attainable. 

If  his  experiments,  which  are  now  being  carried  on  in  Eng- 
land on  a  large  and  skillful  scale,  succeed  as  he  hopes,  or  if 
some  other  of  the  many  inventors  who  are  working  on  the 
problem  hits  upon  the  right  combination,  there  seems  to  be  no 
reason  why  man  may  not  emulate  eventually  the  flight  of  the 
swallow,  whose  speed  is  computed  at  150  miles  per  hour,  or 
that  of  the  swifter  martin,  which  is  said  to  flash  through  the 
air  at  the  rate  of  200  miles  per  hour. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE  CONGRESS.  175 


THE  INVENTORS   OF  THE  TELEGRAPH  AND 
TELEPHONE. 

BY  THOMAS  GRAY,  C.  E.,  F.  R.  S.  B.,  PROFESSOR  OF  DYNAMIC  EN- 
GINEERING, ROSE  POLYTECHNIC  INSTITUTE,  TERRE  HAUTE,  IND. 


The  word  telegraph  was  introduced  about  one  hundred  years 
ago  as  a  name  for  a  means  of  conveying  intelligence  to  a  dis- 
tance by  means  of  signs.  The  signs  were  produced  in  a  variety 
of  ways,  as  for  example,  by  the  shapes  or  positions  of  bodies 
placed  on  high  poles,  or  by  letters  or  words  of  sufficient  magni- 
tude similarly  exposed.  The  meaning  of  the  word  telegraph, 
interpreted  by  its  original  use,  would  thus  be  to  write  or  make 
signs  at  one  place  in  such  a  way  that  they  could  be  read  or 
interpreted  at  a  distant  place.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  so 
long  as  we  confine  our  attention  to  early  methods  of  telegraph- 
ing, the  signs  or  signals  were  made  at  the  sending  station  and 
read  from  the  receiving  station.  Modern  usage  gives  a  slightly 
different  meaning  to  the  word,  namely,  a  means  of  producing 
visible,  audible  or  written  signs  at  a  distance.  That  is  to  say, 
the  signs  are  to  be  produced  at  the  receiving  station.  This 
was  first  accomplished  on  an  extensive  scale  and  at  great 
distances  by  means  of  electricity.  Methods  of  transmitting 
sounds,  or  even  speech,  to  moderate  distances  by  means  of  tubes 
and  by  means  of  what  we  now  call  string  or  mechanical  tele- 
phones have,  however,  been  known  for  several  centuries. 

Methods  of  conveying  intelligence  to  a  distance  have  been 
known  and  used  from  very  early  times.  Fires  seem  to  have 
been  the  earliest  means  employed  for  giving  signals,  and  we 
find  such  signs  referred  to  in  the  writings  of  the  Prophet  Jere- 
miah, of  Eschylus,  of  Porynius  and  others.  Schottus,  in  his 
"Technica  Curiosa,"  proposes  the  application  of  the  telescope 
to  view  posts  erected  on  an  eminence  at  a  distant  station,  and 
on  which  signs  were  to  be  placed.  The  Marquis  of  Worcester, 
in  his  "  Century  of  Inventions,"  enumerates  a  day  and  a  night 
telegraph  ;  and  Kessler,  in  his  "  Concealed  Arts,"  proposes  to 


1 76  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

cut  out  letters  in  boards  and  make  them  visible  at  a  distance 
by  placing  them  over  the  end  of  a  cask  in  which  a  light  is 
burning,  the  letters  or  other  characters  being  exposed  in 
proper  succession  any  message  can  be  transmitted. 

One  of  the  earliest  telegraphs  of  which  we  have  now  a  direct 
representative  was  the  flag  signals  introduced  about  the  middle 
of  the  seventeenth  century  by  the  Duke  of  York  (afterwards 
James  II  of  England),  who  was  at  that  time  admiral  of  the 
English  fleet.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  flag  telegraph  still 
used  for  communicating  between  ships  at  sea  ;  originally  intro- 
duced for  the  purpose  of  directing  the  manoeuvres  of  the  fleet. 
In  1684  Dr.  Robert  Hook  communicated  to  the  Royal  Society  of 
IvOndon  a  proposal  for  a  telegraph.  In  this  method  the  signs 
were  to  consist  of  bodies  of  different  shapes  placed  on  high 
poles  in  an  exposed  position.  Some  years  afterwards  a  similar 
method  was  proposed  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences  by  M.  Amon- 
tons,  a  French  natural  philosopher.  In  1767  Mr.  R.  L,.  Edge- 
worth  proposed  to  telegraph  by  means  of  the  arms  of  a  wind- 
mill, the  positions  of  the  arms  of  the  mill  to  be  used  to  indicate 
the  signals.  In  1784  the  same  author  proposes  to  make  the 
signals  indicate  numbers,  and  to  interpret  by  means  of  vocabu- 
laries of  numbered  words.  In  1794  the  semaphore  telegraph 
of  M.  Chappe  was  adopted  by  the  French  government.  This 
telegraph  consisted  of  a  high  post  and  two  bars  of  timber,  the 
middle  of  one  pivoted  to  one  end  of  the  other,  and  the  free  end 
of  this  second  bar  pivoted  to  the  top  of  the  post,  so  that  the 
whole  of  the  motions  could  take  place  in  a  vertical  plane.  The 
positions,  relative  to  the  vertical  or  horizontal,  of  the  two  arms 
indicated  the  signal.  These  and  other  modifications  of  the 
semaphore  have  been  at  various  times  used,  and  are  still  used 
on  railways  for  train  signals. 

The  chief  interest  of  these  early  telegraphs,  a  great  many 
forms  of  which  might  be  enumerated,  is  in  illustrating  the 
fact  that  some  means  of  conveying  intelligence  to  a  distance 
quickly  and  without  a  messenger  has,  from  the  earliest  times, 
been  recognized  as  of  great  importance.  It  is  well  also  to  keep 
before  us  the  things  that  have  been  done  in  earlier  times  when 
we  attempt  to  judge  of  the  advances  which  have  been  made  by 
modern  invention. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  177 

The  telegraph  of  to-day  is  almost  entirely  electrical,  and  in 
its  present  form  it  is  of  comparatively  recent  growth.  It  may 
be  well,  however,  in  this  branch  also  to  glance  briefly  at  the 
early  history  of  the  subject.  To  begin  with  what  we  may 
call  the  fable  period,  we  find  in  the  year  1617  an  allusion  in 
one  of  Strada's  * '  Prolusiones  Academicse  "  to  the  belief  that 
there  existed  a  sympathy  between  needles  which  had  been 
touched  by  a  species  of  loadstone,  which  caused  them  always 
to  set  parallel  to  each  other  if  they  were  free  to  take  up  such 
positions.  Two  such  needles  it  was  said,  could  be  used  to 
convey  intelligence  to  any  distance,  because  if  they  were 
pivoted  on  cards  marked  with  letters  or  words  and  the  card 
properly  placed,  so  that  corresponding  letters  occupied  similar 
positions,  when  one  needle  was  made  to  point  to  any  letter  or 
mark  the  other  needle  would  immediately  point  to  the  corre- 
sponding mark  on  its  card.  The  same  belief  is  referred  to  by 
Galileo  in  one  of  his  dialogues  in  1632,  and  again  by  the  Abbe 
Barthelemy  in  a  work  entitled  ' '  Voyage  du  Jeune  Anacharsis, ' ' 
published  in  1788.  So  far  this  may  be  said  to  be  mere  fable, 
but  it  gives  an  idea  of  what  were  then  looked  upon  as  possibili- 
ties in  magnetism,  and  we  can  hardly  help  comparing  with 
these  ideas  some  almost  equally  extraordinary  ones  which  are 
occasionally  expressed  at  the  present  day  with  respect  to 
electricity. 

The  discovery  of  Stephen  Gray,  in  1729,  that  the  electrical 
influence  could  be  conveyed  to  a  distance  by  means  of  an  insu- 
lated wire,  is  probably  the  first  of* direct  influence  in  connec- 
tion with  telegraphy.  As  a  result  of  this  discovery,  and  the 
investigations  which  followed  it,  we  find  a  considerable  number 
of  proposals  to  use  electrical  forces  for  the  transmission  of 
intelligence.  The  first  of  these  of  which  there  is  any  record 
was  made  by  Charles  Morrison,  of  Renfrew,  Scotland,  in  a  letter 
to  Scot's  Magazine,  written  in  1753,  and  signed  "  C.  M."  As 
many  insulated  wires  as  there  were  characters  to  be  signaled 
were  to  be  erected  between  the  two  stations.  At  the  receiving 
station  the  ends  of  the  different  wires  were  to  be  connected  to 
a  series  of  balls,  underneath  which  the  characters,  printed  on 
light  pieces  of  paper,  were  to  be  placed.  If  any  one  of  the 
wires  became  electrified  by  the  distant  end  being  put  in  contact 


178  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

with  the  source  of  electricity,  the  character  under  the  ball  on 
the  end  of  it  would  be  attracted  and  thus  indicate  the  signal. 
An  interesting  modification  was  suggested  in  the  same  letter, 
namely,  to  replace  the  balls  by  a  series  of  bells  of  different 
pitch,  arranged  in  such  a  way  that  when  the  wires  became 
electrified  they  would  discharge  into  the  bells  and  cause  them 
to  sound:  ....  "the  electric  spark,  breaking -on  bells  of 
different  size,  will  inform  his  correspondent  by  the  sound  what 
wires  have  been  touched  ;  and  thus,  by  some  practice  they  may 
come  to  understand  the  language  of  the  chimes  in  whole  words 
without  being  put  to  the  trouble  of  noting  down  every  letter." 
A  similar  telegraph  was  invented  in  1767  by  Joseph  Bozolus,  a 
Jesuit  and  a  lecturer  on  natural  philosophy  in  Rome.  (See  a  L,atin 
poem,  entitled  ' '  Mariani  Parthenii  Electrocorum, "  in  VI  I/ibros,, 
Roma,  1767,  p.  34).  In  17 74  a  telegraph  on  the  same  principle 
was  established  by  L,e  Sage.  In  this  system  each  wire  term- 
inated in  a  pith-ball  electroscope,  and  the  signals  were  read  in 
accordance  with  the  indications  of  these  electroscopes,  of 
which  twenty-four  were  used.  This  telegraph  was  improved 
upon  by  Lomond  in  1787,  one  wire  only  being  used,  and  a 
code  of  signals  forming  the  means  of  interpretation.  A 
similar  proposal  was  made  by  Betancourt  in  the  same  year 
and  again  by  Cavallo  in  1795.  The  latter  proposed  to  use 
combinations  of  sparks  as  a  code  of  signals.  In  1794  Reizen 
proposed  to  cut  letters  out  of  tinfoil,  leaving  a  series  of  short 
interruptions  of  the  tinfoil  at  short  distances  apart,  so  that  a 
discharge  of  electricity  around  the  tinfoil  would  illuminate  the 
letter  by  a  series  of  sparks.  This  method  of  producing  illumin- 
ated patterns  is  still  a  common  class-room  experiment  in  physi- 
cal lectures.  The  next  to  propose  the  use  of  static  electricity 
for  telegraphic  purposes  seems  to  have  been  Ronalds,  of  Ham- 
mersmith, in  1816.  In  this  telegraph  the  letters  were  printed 
on  a  disk  which  was  mounted  on  the  seconds  arbor  of  a  clock. 
One  of  the  clocks  was  placed  at  the  sending  and  the  receiving 
stations,  and  arranged  to  bring  corresponding  letters  simul- 
taneously opposite  a  small  window  in  the  dial  of  the  clock. 
When  the  proper  letter  was  exposed  a  signal  was  sent  by 
means  of  a  pith-ball  telegraph.  This  telegraph  was  more  com- 
plicated than  several  which  have  been  mentioned  above,  and 
required  two  clocks  going  synchronously. 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS.  179 

In  the  year  1767  an  important  observation  was  made  by 
Sulzer.  He  found  that  when  two  plates  of  different  metals 
were  placed  one  above  and  the  other  below  the  tongue,  a 
peculiar  sensation  and  taste  was  felt  when  the  metals  touched 
each  other  outside  the  tongue.  Sulzer  failed  to  find  the  expla- 
nation of  this  phenomenon,  and  no  further  advance  was  made 
until  the  well-known  frog  experiments  of  Galvani  gave  fresh 
impetus  to  the  subject.  The  discoveries  of  Volta  and  the 
invention  of  the  voltaic  pile  shortly  followed.  In  the  same 
year  (1800)  an  attempt  to  close  the  circuit  of  a  voltaic  battery 
by  means  of  a  drop  of  water  led  Nicholson  and  Carlisle  to  the 
discovery  that  water  is  decomposed  by  the  galvanic  current. 

This  gave  rise  to  the  galvanic  or  electrolysis  telegraphs  oi 
Sommering,  Coxe  and  Sharpe,  and  is  the  basis  of  all  the 
chemical  printing  and  copying  telegraphs  which  have  in  more 
recent  times  been  produced.  Sommering' s  telegraph  was  in- 
vented in  1809,  and  was  similar  in  principle  to  that  of  Morrison, 
except  that  the  decomposition  of  water  and  consequent  accumu- 
lation of  gas  in  a  series  of  tubes  gave  the  necessary  indications. 
To  call  attention,  it  was  proposed  in  connection  with  the  tele- 
graph to  liberate  an  alarm  by  means  of  an  accumulation  of  gas. 
Professor  Coxe,  of  Pennsylvania,  described  a  similar  telegraph 
in  1 8 10,  and  proposed  to  use  either  the  decomposition  of  water 
or  of  metallic  salts.  Mr.  J.  R.  Sharpe  proposed  a  voltaic 
telegraph  in  1813,  and  exhibited  it  before  the  Lords  of  the 
Admiralty,  "who  spoke  approvingly  of  it,  but  added,  that  as 
war  was  over  and  money  scarce,  they  could  not  carry  it  into 
effect."  (See  Repertory  of  Arts,  Second  Series,  Vol.  XXIX, 
p.  23). 

Perhaps  the  most  important  electrical  discovery  in  its  influ- 
ence on  telegraphy  was  made  by  Romagnesi,  of  Trente,  in  1805, 
but  received  little  attention  and  no  development  until  it  was 
rediscovered  by  Oersted  in  1819.  This  was  the  discovery  that 
a  wire  conveying  an  electric  current  is  capable  of  deflecting  a 
magnetic  needle.  In  the  following  year  Schweigger  discovered 
that  the  deflecting  force  was  increased  when  he  wound  the  wire 
several  times  round  the  needle.  These  two  discoveries  formed 
the  foundation  for  the  construction  of  the  galvanoscopes  and 
galvanometers  since  so  much  used  in  connection  with  electrical 


•r  rr 


l8o  PROCEEDINGS   Ofr    THE    CONGRESS. 

appliances   and   measurements.     One  of  the   most   extensive 
applications  has  been  to  telegraphy. 

Galvanoscopic,  or,  as  they  have  been  more  commonly  called, 
needle  telegraphs  resulted  very  shortly  from  these  discoveries. 
In  this  field  of  invention  we  find,  prominent  among  the  early 
workers,  the  distinguished  names  of  Ampere,  Gauss  and 
Weber.  Ampere  proposed  a  multiple  wire  telegraph  with 
galvanoscope  indicators  in  1820.  A  modification  of  Ampere's 
telegraph  was  carried  out  by  Ritchie,  and  afterwards  exhibited 
in  Edinburgh  by  Alexander.  In  this  telegraph  thirty  wires 
were  used,  twenty-six  for  the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  three  for 
signs  of  punctuation  and  one  for  the  end  of  a  word.  The  gal- 
vanoscope needles  each  carried  a  small  screen  which  in  its 
normal  position  covered  the  letter,  but  which,  on  the  passage 
of  a  current  through  the  wire,  was  drawn  aside  exposing  the 
letter  to  view.  The  transmitting  keys  were  arranged  like  the 
keys  of  a  piano-forte.  With  the  exception  of  the  use  of  gal- 
vanic instead  of  static  electricity  this  telegraph  was  not  much 
in  advance  of  the  proposal  of  Morrison.  A  single  circuit  tele- 
graph was  invented  in  the  year  1828  by  Tribaoillet,  who  also 
used  a  galvanoscope  as  the  indicator. 

In  1832  a  five-needle  telegraph  was  invented  by  Schilling, 
who  also  used  a  single  needle  and  single  circuit  telegraph, 
using  reverse  currents  and  combinations  of  signals  for  an  alpha- 
bet. Models  of  this  telegraph  were  made  and  exhibited  before 
the  Emperor  Alexander  and  others,  but  Schilling  unfortunately 
died  before  any  practical  result  was  attained.  In  1833  Schill- 
ing's telegraph  was  developed  to  some  extent  by  Gauss  and 
Weber,  who  used  it  for  experimental  purposes.  The  chief 
modification  introduced  by  these  experimenters  was  the  sub- 
stitution of  induced  currents,  produced  by  the  motion  of  a  coil 
of  wire  surrounding  a  bar  magnet,  for  the  galvanic  currents 
used  by  Schilling.  The  following  translation  of  a  part  of  a 
report  of  the  magnetic  observations  of  these  physicists  given 
in  Poggandorf's  Annalen,  32,  p.  568,  is  quoted  from  "Sabine's 
Electric  Telegraph, "  "  There  is,  in  connection  with  these 
arrangements,  a  great  and  until  now  in  its  way  novel  project, 
for  which  we  are  indebted  to  Professor  Weber.  This  gentle- 
man erected  during  the  past  year  a  double-wire  line  over  the 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  181 

houses  of  the  town  (Gottingen)  from  the  Physical  Cabinet  to 
the  Observatory,  and  lately  a  continuation  from  the  latter 
building  to  the  Magnetic  Observatory ;  thus  an  immense  gal- 
vanic chain  (line)  is  formed,  in  which  the  galvanic  current, 
the  two  multipliers  at  the  ends  being  included,  has  to  travel  a 
distance  of  nearly  9,000  (Prussian)  feet.  The  line  wire  is 
mostly  of  copper,  of  that  known  in  commerce  as  'No.  3,'  of 
which  one  metre  weighs  eight  grammes.  The  wire  of  the 
multipliers  in  the  Magnetic  Observatory  of  copper,  'No.  14,' 
silvered,  and  of  which  one  gramme  measures  2.6  metres. 
This  arrangement  promises  to  offer  opportunities  for  a  number 
of  interesting  experiments.  We  regard,  not  without  admira- 
tion, how  a  single  pair  of  plates,  brought  into  contact  at  the 
further  end,  instantaneously  communicates  a  movement  to  the 
magnetic  bar,  which  is  deflected  at  once  for  over  a  thousand 
divisions  of  the  scale."  And  further  on  in  the  same  report : 
"  The  ease  and  certainty  with  which  the  manipulator  has  the 
direction  of  the  current,  and  therefore  the  movement  of  the 
magnetic  needle,  in  his  command,  by  means  of  the  communi- 
cator, had  a  year  ago  suggested  experiments  of  an  application 
to  telegraphic  signaling,  which,  with  whole  words  and  even 
short  sentences,  completely  succeeded.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  it  would  be  possible  to  arrange  an  uninterrupted  telegraph 
communication  in  the  same  way  between  two  places  at  a  con- 
siderable number  of  miles  distance  from  each  other. ' ' 

The  method  of  producing  the  currents  in  Gauss  and  Weber's 
experiments  was  an  application  of  the  important  discoveries  of 
Faraday  and  Henry  in  the  induction  of  currents  by  currents 
and  by  magnets,  which  have  since  borne  so  very  important 
fruit  in  the  field  of  dynamo-electric  machinery. 

On  the  recommendation  of  Gauss  this  telegraph  was  taken 
up  by  Steinheil,  who  following  their  example  also  used  induced 
currents.  The  important  contributions  of  Steinheil  were  the 
discovery  of  the  earth  circuit,  made  while  attempting  to  use 
the  rails  of  a  railway  as  telegraphic  conductors  ;  the  invention 
of  a  telegraphic  alphabet  and  a  recording  telegraph.  Of  these 
the  discovery  of  the  earth  circuit,  made  in  1837,  has  proved  of 
great  value.  An  interesting  description  of  Steinheil' s  tele- 
graph, together  with  illustrations  of  the  magneto-electric  and 


182  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

recording  apparatus  used  on  the  line  erected  in  1837,  between. 
Munich  and  Bogenhausen,  will  be  found  in  Sturgeon's  "Annals 
of  Electricity,"  (Vol.  III).  This  account,  written  by  Steinheil 
himself,  shows  that  he  had  at  that  time  an  excellent  apprecia- 
tion both  of  the  mechanical  and  electrical  properties  which  a 
good  practical  electric  telegraph  should  have,  and  also  that  he 
was  well  versed  in  the  knowledge  then  existing  of  electrical 
science.  The  relative  merits  of  scopic,  acoustic  and  recording 
telegraphs  are  discussed,  and  the  advantages,  which  experience 
has  since  brought  into  prominence,  of  the  acoustic  telegraph  is 
pointed  out.  A  very  good  discussion  of  the  most  economical 
method  of  arranging  signals  for  a  telegraphic  alphabet  will  also 
be  found  in  this  paper. 

Schilling's  telegraph,  which  we  have  just  seen,  was  the  model 
on  which  Gauss  and  Weber's  and,  therefore,  also  Steinheil's. 
telegraphs  were  based,  was,  as  we  shall  see  presently,  also  the 
basis  of  Cooke's,  and  of  Cooke  and  Wheatstone's  needle  tele- 
graphs. 

Previous  to  the  date  which  we  have  now  reached  (1837)  an- 
other epoch-making  discovery  had  been  made,  which  has  had 
great  influence  on  telegraphy.  This  was  the  discovery  of  the 
magnetizing  influence  of  the  current.  The  discovery  of  Oersted 
was  followed  up  by  Ampere  in  a  long  series  of  researches,  in 
which,  among  other  things,  he  established  the  mutual  attrac- 
tions and  repulsions  of  wires  carrying  currents,  the  fact  that  the 
voltaic  element  itself  acts  on  a  magnet  like  any  other  part  of 
the  circuit,  and  that  a  spiral  of  wire  forming  part  of  a  circuit 
would  magnetize  steel  needles.  In  the  same  year  M.  Arago 
found  that  a  wire  conveying  an  electric  current  attracted  iron 
filings,  and  in  1824  the  law  of  the  variation  of  magnetic  force 
with  varying  distance  from  the  wire  was  investigated  by  Bar- 
low. In  1825,  Sturgeon  found  that  a  bar  of  soft  iron  was  ren- 
dered temporarily  magnetic  if  surrounded  by  a  helix  of  wire 
through  which  an  electric  current  was  passing.  In  the  year 
1827,  Ohm  propounded  his  celebrated  law  of  the  conduction  of 
currents.  In  1831,  Faraday  in  England,  and  Henry  in  America, 
discovered  the  induction  of  currents  by  currents  and  by  mag- 
nets. We  see  from  these  leading  facts  that  in  the  twelve  years 
succeeding  Oersted's  discovery  the  knowledge  of  electricity  and 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  183 

of  magnetism  in  the  directions  important  for  telegraphic  appli- 
cation was  very  great,  and  we  shall  see  that  it  quickly  bore 
fruit. 

Schilling's  telegraph  was  exhibited  at  a  meeting  of  German 
naturalists  held  at  Bonn  in  1835,  and  was  there  seen  by  Prof. 
Muncke,  of  Heidelberg,  who,  after  his  return  to  Heidelberg, 
made  models  of  the  telegraph  and  exhibited  them  in  his  class- 
room. These  models  were  seen  by  Cooke  in  the  early  part  of 
1836,  and  gave  him  the  idea  of  introducing  the  electric  tele- 
graph in  Bngland.  Cooke  immediately  set  to  work  to  construct 
a  telegraph  on  a  similar  plan,  and  worked  out  a  three-needle 
system  of  signals,  which  has  been  to  some  extent  confounded 
with  the  five-needle  telegraph  afterwards  patented  and  intro- 
duced by  him  in  conjunction  with  Wheatstone.  While  arrang- 
ing for  experiments  on  the  London  and  Manchester  Railway, 
Cooke  was  introduced  to  Wheatstone,  and  afterwards  consulted 
him  as  to  difficulties  he  had  met  with  in  his  experiments.  A 
partnership  soon  followed,  which  led  Wheatstone  to  devote 
considerable  attention  to  the  subject.  The  result  has  been  the 
production  of  a  considerable  variety  of  telegraphic  apparatus 
of  great  value  and  ingenuity. 

Steinheil  was  anticipated  in  the  idea  of  making  the  electric 
telegraph  self-recording  by  Morse,  of  New  York,  who,  accord- 
ing to  a  considerable  amount  of  evidence  brought  forward  by 
Morse  himself,  thought  out  some  arrangement  as  early  as  1832. 
Exactly  what  Morse's  first  ideas  wrere  seems  somewhat  doubtful, 
and  he  did  nothing  till  1835,  when  he  made  a  rough  model  of 
an  electro- magnetic  recording  telegraph.  This  telegraph  con- 
sisted essentially  of  a  pendulum,  which  carried  a  marking 
pencil  on  its  lower  end,  and  which  could  be  deflected  by  an 
electro-magnet.  The  deflections  of  the  pendulum  were  re- 
corded on  a  band  of  paper,  which  was  moved  forward  by  clock- 
work under  the  pendulum,  and  simple  combinations  of  deflec- 
tions were  to  represent  numbers.  The  interpretation  of  the 
message  was  to  be  made  by  means  of  a  telegraphic  dictionary, 
in  which  the  words,  phrases  or  sentences  were  to  be  numbered. 
There  was  no  hint  at  this  time  of  the  alphabet  with  which  we 
are  now  so  familiar  as  the  * '  Morse  Code ' '  or  the  ' '  Morse 
Alphabet."  This  alphabet  now  almost  universally  used  and 


1 84  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

which  has  probably  done  more  than  anything  else  towards 
perpetuating  the  name  of  Morse,  being  that  which  perpetuates 
the  name  "  Morse  System,"  was  not  invented  by  Morse  but  by 
Vail,  who  was  associated  with  him  in  the  development  of  the  tele- 
graph. The  dictionary  of  numbered  words  proposed  by  Morse 
was  proposed  by  Edgeworth  in  1794  in  connection  with  his 
semaphore  telegraph.  The  model  made  in  1835  shows  little 
mechanical  ingenuity.  The  method  of  transmitting  the  signals, 
which  was  by  means  of  type  moved  through  a  contact-making 
device,  was  somewhat  crude  and  much  less  convenient  than 
the  simple  make-and-break  circuit  devices  of  several  previous 
workers,  and  the  electro-magnet  used  to  deflect  the  pendulum 
showed  almost  complete  ignorance  of  the  principles  then  known 
of  electro-magnetism.  The  chief  points  of  interest  in  connec- 
tion with  the  early  history  of  the  Morse  telegraph  lie  in  the 
proposal  to  use  electro-magnetism  as  the  motive  force  to  move 
the  recording  pendulum  and  the  idea  of  making  the  telegraph 
self-recording.  Morse  made  positive  claims  to  have  been  the 
first  to  do  both  of  these,  and  it  seems  proper  that  his  claim 
should  be  examined. 

After  the  discovery  of  Sturgeon  in  electro-magnetism  became 
known  among  scientific  men  the  subject  was  taken  up  by  Pro- 
fessor Henry,  who  was  then  teaching  physics  in  Albany 
Academy.  An  account  of  part  of  Henry's  experiments  was 
published  in  "  Silliman's  American  Journal  of  Science"  for 
January,  April  and  July,  1831. 

The  following,  among  other  things,  were  subjects  of  investi- 
gation in  these  experiments  :  The  laws  which  govern  the  mag- 
netizing effect  of  a  helix  under  varying  conditions  as  to  num- 
ber of  turns  in  the  helix,  nature  or  arrangement  of  the  battery, 
and  length  of  the  external  circuit.  The  carrying  power  of 
magnets  having  different  kinds  of  winding  and  different 
lengths  of  wire  in  the  coils.  The  construction  of  an  electro- 
magnetic engine.  The  transmission  of  power  to  a  distance  by 
means  of  his  electro-magnetic  engine.  Among  the  applica- 
tions were  the  closing  of  a  distant  electric  circuit  by  means  of 
the  armature  of  an  electro  magnet,  the  coils  of  which  were  in- 
cluded in  another  circuit  passing  through  an  operating  or 
transmitting  station,  and  the"  transmission  of  signals  to  a  dis- 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS.  185 

tance  by  causing  the  armature  of  an  electro-magnet  to  strike  a 
bell  each  time  a  current  was  sent  through  the  coils  of  the  mag- 
net from  the  transmitting  station.  The  latter  of  these  applica- 
tions was  illustrated  by  means  of  a  model  apparatus  included 
in  a  long  circuit  of  wire  taken  several  times  round  one  of  the 
rooms  in  Albany  Academy.  The  following  claims  made  in 
this  connection  by  Professor  Henry  are  well  founded,  and  de- 
serve quotation  : 

(<  i.  Previous  to  my  investigations  the  means  of  developing 
magnetism  in  soft  iron  were  imperfectly  understood,  and  the 
electro-magnet  which  then  existed  was  inapplicable  to  the 
transmission  of  power  to  a  distance. ' ' 

"  2.  I  was  the  first  to  prove,  by  actual  experiment,  that  in 
order  to  develop  magnetic  power  at  a  distance  a  galvanic  bat- 
tery of  '  intensity '  must  be  employed  to  project  the  current 
through  the  long  conductor,  and  that  a  magnet  surrounded  by 
many  turns  of  one  long  wire  must  be  used  to  receive  this  cur- 
rent." 

"  3.  I  was  the  first  to  actually  magnetize  a  piece  of  soft  iron 
at  a  distance,  and  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  of  the  applica- 
bility of  my  experiments  to  the  telegraph." 

"4.  I  was  the  first  to  actually  sound  a  bell  at  a  distance  by 
means  of  the  electro-magnet. ' ' 

"5.  The  principles  I  had  developed  were  applied  by  Dr. 
Gale  to  render  Morse's  machine  effective  at  a  distance." 

It  is  to  Henry,  undoubtedly,  that  is  due  the  credit  not  only 
of  first  pointing  out  the  application  of  electro-magnetism  to 
telegraphy,  but  also  of  supplying  the  requisite  knowledge  of 
how  to  make  magnets  suitable  for  the  transmission  of  signals 
through  long  distances,  which  rendered  the  practical  applica- 
tion possible  at  that  time.  Besides  this,  we  see  that  Henry 
actually  constructed  an  experimental  line  and  made  the  first 
electro-magnetic  sounder,  which  consisted  of  a  receiving  mag- 
net with  a  polarized  armature,  one  end  of  which  was  attracted 
by  the  magnet  and  the  other  end  made  to  sound  a  bell.  Again, 
in  the  method  of  closing  one  circuit  by  means  of  a  magnet  in 
another  circuit,  we  have  the  electro-magnetic  relay,  afterwards 
reinvented  by  Morse  and  others,  and  now  very  widely  used  on 
long  telegraph  circuits  both  for  closing  "  local  circuits  "  and 
for  "translation." 


1 86  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

The  credit  of  inventing  the  electro-magnetic  telegraph  was 
claimed  by  and  has  usually  been,  popularly  at  least,  given  to 
Morse.  There  has  been  some  dispute  as  to  who  first  suggested 
the  idea,  it  having  arisen  out  of  a  conversation  among  the 
passengers  on  board  the  ship  Sully  during  a  passage  from 
France  to  New  York  in  1832.  Dr.  Jackson,  of  Boston,  claimed 
to  have  been  the  originator  of  the  idea,  and  it  seems  not  un- 
likely that  information  which  he  is  said  to  have  given  with 
reference  to  the  early  experimental  telegraphs  then  being 
worked  on  and  exhibited  in  various  parts  of  Europe  did  orig- 
inate the  idea.  It  is  not  clear,  however,  that  the  use  of  the 
electro-magnet  was  suggested  by  Jackson,  and  there  is  sufficient 
evidence  to  show  that  Morse  had  had  opportunities  of  seeing  a 
copy  of  Sturgeon's  magnet  in  Professor  Dana's  laboratory  in 
New  York.  The  magnet  made  by  Morse  was  itself  almost  an 
exact  copy  of  this,  and  it  was  only  after  failure  with  it  that  he 
appealed  to  Dr.  Gale  for  assistance.  Dr.  Gale  gave  the  necessary 
information  and  supplied  the  materials  for  making  the  change, 
afterwards  informing  Morse  that  he  had  learned  how  to  ar- 
range such  an  apparatus  from  the  writings  of  Professor  Henry. 
Probably  the  idea  of  using  an  electro-magnet  was  original  with 
Morse.  He  didn't  know  of  Henry's  work  or,  indeed,  anything 
about  the  subject  beyond  the  few  experiments  in  which  he  had 
seen  Sturgeon's  magnet  used,  and  would  naturally  turn  to  that 
means  of  obtaining  motive  force.  It  is  not  necessary,  however, 
when  giving  Morse  due  credit  for  his  originality  to  ignore  the 
fact  that,  although  unknown  to  him,  the  scientific  part  of  the 
invention  had  already  been  worked  out  by  Henry,  and  besides 
that,  through  Dr.  Gale,  Morse  actually  made  use  of  Henry's 
discoveries  before  he  succeeded  in  making  his  scheme  practica- 
ble. Morse  afterwards  objected  to  Henry's  claims,  which  were 
brought  before  the  public  by  enforced  testimony  in  the  law 
courts,  and  not  by  any  individual  motion  on  Henry's  part. 
The  public  have  lauded  Morse  and  have  paid  him  liberally  for 
the  little  he  actually  did,  while  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that 
Congress  could  be  persuaded  to  make  a  petty  allowance  to 
Henry's  family,  although  he  had  been  for  many  years  a  public 
servant,  and  besides  had  probably  added  more  than  any  other 
man  to  the  scientific  reputation  of  the  United  States.  Many 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  187 

people  think  that  scientific  men  ought  not  to  patent  their  dis- 
coveries. Which  is  the  better  known  name,  Henry  or  Morse  ? 
Would  not  Henry  have  gained  both  in  popularity  and  in  scien- 
tific reputation  if  he  had  patented  and  made  the  public  pay 
liberally  for  his  discoveries  ? 

From  the  brief  sketch  just  given  it  will  be  seen  that  in  look- 
ing over  the  history  of  the  early  endeavors  to  produce  a 
telegraph  many  ideas  have  been  brought  forward  as  to  codes 
of  signals,  alphabets,  telegraphic  dictionaries,  methods  of  calling 
attention  by  alarm  apparatus,  methods  of  arranging  and  oper- 
ating the  circuits,  and  so  on,  that  only  required  an  efficient 
motive  force  to  render  them  practical  and  reliable  systems.  In 
looking  over  the  subject,  therefore,  we  are  forced  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  telegraph  was  not  the  invention  of  any  man,  but 
the  result  of  a  gradual  growth  towards  which  many  minds, 
some  of  them  the  ablest  the  scientific  world  has  known,  have 
contributed. 

We  have  now  reached  a  stage  in  the  history  of  this  subject 
when  inventors  may  be  said  to  have  had  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  the  subject,  as  it  now  stands,  before  them  and  we 
have  simply  to  look  for  developments.  These  developments 
have  been  great  and  of  a  very  varied  character.  It  is  impossible 
in  this  address  to  do  more  than  sketch  a  few  of  their  leading 
features. 

As  already  stated  the  telegraph  of  Schilling,  through  a 
model  exhibited  by  Professor  Muncke,  of  Heidelberg,  gave  the 
idea  of  an  electric  telegraph  to  Cooke  in  the  year  1836.  It 
appears,  also,  that  Wheatstone  was  aware  of  these  earl}'-  ex- 
periments, and  had  himself  paid  some  attention  to  the  subject. 
His  experiments  on  the  velocity  of  electricity,  made  in  1834, 
are  sufficient  to  show  that  he  was  at  that  time  aware  that  sig- 
nals could  be  produced  at  the  end  of  long  circuits  of  wire  by 
electrical  means.  The  joint  work  of  Cooke  and  Wheatstone 
led,  within  a  few  years,  to  considerable  improvements  in  the 
needle  telegraphs.  The  various  forms  of  needle  telegraph 
used  by  them,  resulting  in  the  final  adoption  of  the  single- 
needle  system,  for  a  long  time  extensively  used  in  England, 
were  passed  over  in  a  few  years.  Various  modifications  of 
the  needle  telegraph  were,  somewhat  later,  patented  by  the 


1 88  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE  CONGRESS. 

brothers  H.  and  B.  Highton,  including  an  interesting  form 
in  which  the  current  was  passed  through  a  strip  of  gold  leaf 
placed  in  front  of  the  pole  of  a  magnet.  Each  time  the  current 
passed  the  gold  leaf  was  deflected,  and  thus  served  in  place  of 
an  index  needle. 

A  patent  was  granted  to  Wheatstone  and  Cooke  in  1840  for 
improvements  in  giving  signals  and  sounding  alarms  at  distant 
places  by  means  of  electric  currents.  In  this  patent  the  first 
form  of  the  letter  showing,  dial  or  A,  B,  C  telegraph,  as  it  has 
been  variously  called,  is  described.  Improvements  were  sub- 
sequently made  in  this  apparatus  by  Wheatstone,  and  several 
modifications  have  been  made  by  other  inventors,  of  which  the 
best  known  are  Brequet's,  Froment's,  Siemens'  Chester's, 
Kramer's,  Siemens  and  Halske's,  and  Hamblet's.  The  first 
apparatus  devised  by  Wheatstone  was  actuated  by  voltaic 
electricity,  but  in  the  later  forms  magneto-electricity  was 
applied.  One  or  other  of  these  methods  have  been  used  in 
the  other  forms  of  apparatus  for  the  same  purpose.  Wheat- 
stone  also  worked  on  a  type-printing  telegraph,  which  was  a 
modification  of  his  A,  B,  C  instrument,  but  it  never  came  into 
practical  use.  Probably  the  greatest  achievement  of  Wheat- 
stone,  judged  at  least  by  its  practical  results,  was  his  auto- 
matic recording  telegraph,  which  is  so  largely  used  for  press 
and  other  long  despatches  in  England,  and  which  has  attained 
to  maryelous  speeds  for  a  mechanical  recorder. 

Morse's  telegraph  first  came  before  the  Patent  Office  in  the 
form  of  a  caveat  filed  by  him  on  the  third  of  October,  1837.  The 
following  inventions  were  specified  :  First,  a  system  of  signs  by 
which  numbers,  and  consequently  words  and  sentences,  are 
signified ;  second,  a  set  of  type,  adapted  to  regulate  and  com- 
municate the  signs,  with  rules  in  which  to  set  up  the  type  ; 
third,  an  apparatus  called  the  port  rule,  for  regulating  the 
movement  of  the  type  rules,  which  rules,  by  means  of  the 
type,  regulate  the  times  and  the  intervals  of  the  passage  of 
electricity  ;  fourth,  a  register,  which  records  the  signs  perma- 
nently ;  fifth,  a  dictionary,  or  vocabulary  of  words,  numbered 
and  adapted  to  this  system  of  telegraph  ;  sixth,  modes  of  laying 
conductors  to  preserve  them  from  injury. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  189 

This  caveat  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  invention  by  Morse  of 
the  recording  telegraph  previous  to  his  partnership  with  Vail. 
The  partnership  was  agreed  upon  in  September,  1837,  an(i 
according  to  it  Mr.  Vail  undertook  to  construct  at  his  own  ex- 
pense and  exhibit  before  a  committee  of  Congress  one  of  the 
telegraphs  ' '  of  the  plan  and  invention  of  Morse  ; ' '  that  he 
should  give  his  time  and  personal  services  to  the  work,  and 
assume  the  expense  of  exhibiting  the  apparatus  and  of  procur- 
ing patents  in  the  United  States.  In  consideration,  Vail  was  to 
receive  one-fourth  of  all  the  rights  in  the  invention  in  the  United 
States.  Provision  was  also  made  for  securing  to  Vail  an  interest 
in  any  foreign  patents  which  he  might  furnish  the  means  to 
obtain.*  A  large  amount  of  documentary  evidence  bearing  on 
the  development  of  the  telegraph  exists  in  the  possession  of  Mr. 
Vail's  family,  and  in  the  National  Museum  at  Washington. 
From  this  evidence  there  seems  no  doubt  but  that  Morse 
assumed  and  has  been  accorded  very  much  more  than  his 
share  of  the  credit  of  the  invention  of  the  telegraph  as  it  is 
now  known.  The  patents  taken  out  in  Morse's  name  included 
many  important  improvements  which  were  entirely  due  to 
Vail,  and  for  which  Morse  promised  to  give  him  credit,  a 
promise  which  was  never  publicly  redeemed.  The  alphabet 
now  used  was,  as  I  have  already  said,  worked  out  by  Vail, 
who,  it  appears,  first  began  its  formation  by  an  attempt  to 
classify  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  according  to  frequency  of 
occurrence,  with  the  view  of  giving  to  these  letters  the  simplest 
signs.  After  working  on  this  for  some  time,  it  occurred  to  him 
that  valuable  information  might  be  obtained  in  a  printing 
office,  and  a  visit  to  an  adjacent  newspaper  office  showed  him 
the  whole  problem  solved  in  the  printers'  type  tray.  The 
alphabet  which  he  afterwards  formed  is  still  used  in  this 
country  and  also,  with  some  simplifications,  as  the  Kuropean 
and  international  code.  The  modification  of  the  recording 
apparatus  from  the  vertical  pendulum  and  recording  pencil  to 
the  compact  instrument  with  a  horizontal  lever  and  metallic 
stylus,  marking  by  indentation,  used  on  the  first  telegraphic 
line  between  Washington  and  Baltimore,  was  also  due  to  Vail. 

*See  F.  L.  Pope  in  the  Century  Magazine,  Vol.  XXXV,  p.  924  et  seq. 


190  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

Many  other  things  might  be  mentioned  to  show  that  in  the 
early  stages  of  this  invention,  which  has  marked  so  wide  a  step 
in  our  modern  civilization,  the  name  of  Vail  deserves  a  promi- 
nent place.  It  is  very  unfortunate  that  his  own  modesty ,, 
together  with  his  confidence  in  Morse's  promises  to  do  him 
justice,  prevented  the  matter  from  being  publicly  ventilated 
during  the  lifetime  of  the  inventors. 

After  several  unsuccessful  attempts  to  induce  Congress  to 
assume  the  expense  of  building  a  line  of  sufficient  length  to 
practically  test  the  proposals  of  Morse,  an  appropriation  of 
$30,000  was  made  in  March,  1843,  f°r  tne  purpose  of  building  a 
line  from  Washington  to  Baltimore.  This  line  was  completed 
and  successfully  opened  on  the  24th  of  May,  1844.  The  system 
practically  introduced  with  the  opening  of  this  line,  modified  in 
some  of  its  mechanical  details,  has  continued  to  be  the  principal 
one  used,  and  is  the  basis  of  most  of  the  recording  telegraphs  in 
all  countries.  One  important  modification  should,  however,  be 
mentioned,  that  is  the  wide  use  of  the  click  of  the  armature  for 
reading  the  message  in  preference  to  the  recorder.  This  is  a 
return  to  the  electro-magnetic  acoustic  telegraph  of  Henry.  It- 
gives  one  of  the  simplest  possible  receiving  instruments,  and,  as 
was  long  ago  pointed  out  by  Steinheil,  possesses  the  great  ad- 
vantage that  it  leaves  the  eyes  of  the  operator  disengaged. 

Of  other  forms  of  telegraphic  apparatus,  the  most  important 
are  the  type-printing  telegraph.  Among  the  early  inventors  of 
these  we  find  Vail,  who  invented  a  type-printing  telegraph  as 
earty  as  1837,  and  Wheatstone  ;  but  the  first  instrument  practi- 
cally used  was  invented  in  1846  by  Royal  B.  House,  of  Ver- 
mont. This  instrument  was  used  for  some  time  in  the  United 
States,  and  was  brought  to  a  considerable  degree  of  perfection. 
It  worked  on  the  step-by-step  principle  and  was  patented  in 
1846.  Another  type-printing  telegraph  of  great  ingenuity  was 
invented  by  D.  E.  Hughes,  of  Kentucky.  This  apparatus 
embodies  many  of  the  features  of  the  apparatus  used  at  present 
in  this  country,  which  is  a  modification  of  Hughes' s  instrument 
due  to  Mr.  Phelps.  The  Hughes  instrument  is  still  largely 
used  in  France  and  to  some  extent  in  other  Kuropean  countries. 
The  Hughes  patents  in  this  country  were  purchased  in  1856  by 
the  American  Telegraph  Company,  and  the  apparatus  has 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  191 

undergone  successive  modification  at  the  hands  of  Mr.  Phelps, 
tending  towards  simplification,  accuracy  of  working,  and  in- 
creased speed.  One  of  the  latest  modifications  is  known  as  the 
Phelps' s  Electro-Motor  Telegraph,  in  which  the  mechanism  is 
driven  by  means  of  an  electro-motor  which,  running  at  a  high 
speed,  allows  the  trains  of  clock-work  to  be  short  and  light.  The 
principle  here  used  is  the  synchronous  movement  of  a  trans- 
mitting shaft  on  the  transmitter  and  the  type-wheel  of  the 
receiver.  Synchronism  is  obtained  by  a  governor,  and  con- 
tinuous rapid  motion  is  kept  up.  The  letter  printed  is  regu- 
lated by  the  position  of  the  transmitting  shaft  when  the  circuit 
is  closed,  this  position  being  under  the  control  of  the  operator. 
Phelps  is  also  the  inventor  of  stock  telegraphs  and  private 
line  printing  telegraphs,  and,  besides  his,  similar  instruments 
have  been  invented  by  L,aws,  Calahan,  Gray  and  others.  These 
instruments  work  on  the  step-by-step  principle  and  all  of  them 
are  beautiful  specimens  of  mechanism  and  scientific  ingenuity. 
Another  system  of  recording  telegraph  messages  requires 
notice — that  is  the  chemical  method.-  We  have  seen  that  very 
early  in  telegraphic  history  the  decomposition  of  liquids  and 
of  solutions  of  salts  were  made  the  basis  of  telegraphs.  It  was 
soon  found  that  a  ribbon  of  paper  or  cloth  saturated 'with  cer- 
tain chemicals  could  be  very  readily  marked  by  the  passage 
through  them  of  the  electric  current.  One  of  Morse's  first 
plans  appears  to  have  been  a  chemical  telegraph,  but  that,  I 
believe,  was  never  worked  out.  The  first  patent  for  such  a 
telegraph  was  given  in  England  to  Edward  Davy  in  1838,  but 
the  system  never  came  into  practical  use.  It  was  complicated 
in  construction  and  required  four  line  wires.  One  interesting 
feature  was  the  use  of  an  electro-magnetic  escapement  for  mov- 
ing the  paper,  an  idea  which  had  occurred  to  Cooke  and  to 
Wheatstone  some  years  earlier.  The  first  successful  chemical 
telegraph  was  due  to  Bain  of  Edinburgh,  and  was  patented  in 
1846.  In  this  system  it  was  proposed  to  transmit  the  message 
by  an  automatic  transmitter,  using  a  punched  slip  of  paper  to 
regulate  the  contacts.  Some  difficulties  with  the  mechanical 
operation  of  preparing  the  necessary  stencil  slips  prevented  this 
being  very  successfully  used,  but  the  chemical  record  was  used 
for  some  years  both  in  England  and  America.  With  the 


192  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

apparatus  now  available  for  transmission,  very  high  speeds  can 
be  attained  by  this  method  of  recording  the  signals. 

The  chemical  method  of  recording  has  been  mostly  used  for 
copying  or  autographic  telegraphs,  and  of  these  a  considerable 
number  have  been  devised.  The  automatic  method  of  trans- 
mission has  been  brought  to  a  high  state  of  perfection.  Among 
others  who  have  worked  at  the  subject  are  Wheatstone,  Sie- 
mens and  Halske,  Gamier,  Humaston,  L,ittle,  Edison,  Park, 
Thomson. 

The  next  important  step  in  telegraphy  was  the  employment 
of  one  line-wire  to  convey  more  than  one  message  at  the  same 
time.  A  solution  of  the  problem  of  sending  two  messages,  one 
in  each  direction,  was  attempted  by  Gintl  of  Vienna,  in  1853, 
and  in  the  following  year  by  Frischen  and  by  Siemens  and 
Halske.  These  methods  were  not  very  successful,  but  they 
were  mechanically  sufficient  for  the  purpose.  They,  however, 
left  an  important  item  out  of  the  account,  namely,  the  elec- 
trostatic capacity  of  the  line.  The  proper  solution  of  the 
difficulty  was  given  by  J.  B.  Stearns  of  Boston,  in  1871, 
who  solved  the  problem  completely,  so  far  at  least  as  land  lines 
were  concerned.  The  same  principle  is  sufficient  for  all  pur- 
poses, but  some  important  modifications  in  detail  are  necessary 
for  submarine  cables.  These  modifications  were  successfully 
made  by  Muirhead  of  London,  and  at  the  present  time  duplex 
working  is  an  ordinary  accomplishment.  The  chief  workers 
in  this  field  were  Frischen,  Siemens  and  Halske,  Stark,  Ed- 
lund,  Gintl,  Nystroin  Preece,  Fur  Nedden,  Farmer,  Maron, 
Winter,  Stearns  and  Muirhead. 

Next  the  problem  of  sending  two  messages  in  each  direction 
was  worked  out.  This  involves  the  additional  problem  of  the 
simultaneous  sending  of  two  messages  in  the  same  direction. 
The  solution  of  this  problem  was  attempted  by  J.  B.  Stark,  of 
Vienna,  in  1855,  and  during  the  following  ten  years  it  was 
worked  at  by  Bosscha,  Kramer,  Maron,  Schaak,  Schreder,, 
Wartman,  and  others.  The  first  to  obtain  success  was  Edison, 
in  1874  ;  and  his  method,  with  some  modifications,  is  still  used. 
Systems  of  quadruplex  were  also  invented  by  Gerrit  Smith  of 
the  Western  Union  Company,  in  1875  and  1876,  and  a  modifi- 
cation of  Edison's  method  was  made  by  Prescott  and  Smith. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  193 

Smith's  1876  method  is  known  as  the  Western  Union  Company's 
Standard  Quadruplex. 

A  system  of  multiple  transmission  was  devised  by  M.  G. 
Farmer,  of  Salem,  in  1852,  in  which,  by  a  commutation  ar- 
rangement, the  line-wire  was  put  successively  in  contact  with  a 
number  of  local  circuits.  A  similar  system  was  exhibited  by 
Meyer  at  the  Vienna  Exposition  in  1873,  and  an  improved 
form  was  introduced  a  few  years  ago  by  Delany,  which  is  in 
use  in  several  countries.  These  systems  are  of  use  if  the  line- 
wire  is  capable  of  doing  more  work  than  any  one  of  the  stations 
is  capable  of  supplying,  and  may  be  likened  to  one  of  the  main 
wires  from  the  central  to  a  district  telephone  exchange,  with 
this  exception — that  all  the  correspondence  goes  on  simul- 
taneously, and  there  need  be  no  difficulty  as  to  precedence. 
Distinctive  from  these  is  the  harmonic  telegraphs  of  Elisha 
Gray,  Edison,  and  Bell.  In  this  system,  which  has  been  most 
completely  worked  out  by  Gray,  any  number  of  messages  may 
be  sent  simultaneously,  without  reference  to  speed  of  trans- 
mission. In  principle,  the  method  consists  in  causing  each  of 
a  number  of  vibrating  reeds  at  one  end  to  produce  pulsations 
of  the  current  flowing  through  the  line,  which  have  the  same 
period  as  the  vibrations  of  the  reed.  A  corresponding  set  of 
reeds  at  the  receiving  end  of  the  line  are  arranged  so  as  to  be 
acted  on  electro-magnetically  by  the  current.  Each  of  these 
receiving  reeds  will,  providing  the  periods  of  the  different  reeds 
forming  any  one  set  are  incommensurable,  respond  only  to  the 
pulsations  of  its  own  natural  period,  and  hence  only  to  the 
vibrations  of  the  corresponding  reed  at  the  sending  end.  The 
continuity  of  these  vibrations  may  be  broken  up  by  means  of 
a  sending  key,  and  thus  a  message  transmitted  in  the  ordinary 
"  Morse"  alphabet. 

The  autographic  or  writing  telegraphic  apparatus,  which  has 
been  developed  of  recent  years,  is  of  great  interest,  both  from 
the  fact  that  the  handwriting  of  the  sender  is  reproduced  in 
fac-simile,  and  from  the  great  ingenuity  of  the  apparatus  em- 
ployed. The  writing  telegraph  of  Cowper  and  the  telautograph 
of  Elisha  Gray  are  good  examples  of  this  mode  of  transmitting 
messages. 


194  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

In  Cowper's  system  two  rectangular  components  of  the 
motion  of  the  pen  are  made  to  vary  the  resistance,  and  con- 
sequently the  current,  in  two  line  wires.  These  currents  act 
on  two  electro-magnets  at  the  receiving  station,  and  the  arma- 
tures of  the  electro-magnets  are  arranged  to  produce  two  rect- 
angular components  of  the  motion  of  the  receiving  pen. 
Bands  of  paper  are  kept  moving  at  approximately  the  same 
rate  under  each  of  these  pens,  and  hence  the  characters  traced 
by  the  motions  of  the  transmitting  pen  are  reproduced  with 
considerable  accuracy  by  the  receiving  pen  in  consequence  of 
the  varying  positions  of  the  armatures  of  the  receiving  magnets, 
caused  by  the  variations  of  the  current.  In  Gray's  apparatus 
two  rectangular  components  of  the  motion  of  the  transmitting 
pen  send  pulsatory  currents  into  the  line- wire.  These  pulsatory 
currents  cause  corresponding  movements  of  the  armatures  of 
two  receiving  magnets,  which  are  made  to  move  the  receiving 
pen  in  the  direction,  in  corresponding  directions,  and  through 
proportionate  distances.  Separate  electro-magnetic  arrange- 
ments lift  the  pen  off  the  paper  between  the  words  and  at  the 
end  of  the  lines,  and  allow  the  receiving  pen  to  be  moved  back- 
wards or  forwards  without  marking  the  paper.  Still  another 
electro-magnetic  arrangement  is  used  to  move  the  paper  forward 
between  the  lines.  Anything  that  can  be  made  with  a  pen — 
such  as  a  sketch  or  drawing — can  be  telegraphed  in  this  way. 
The  whole  apparatus  is  exceedingly  ingenious,  but  much  too 
extensive  and  complicated  to  admit  of  clear  description  here. 

Although  the  mere  extension  of  telegraphs  from  land  to  sub- 
marine lines  can  hardly  be  called  an  invention,  yet  very  many 
new  problems  presented  themselves  for  solution  in  this  exten- 
sion. Many  of  these  problems  were  of  a  more  purely  scientific 
character  than  those  presented  in  the  developments  which  had 
been  in  progress,  and  consequently  tested  the  knowledge  then 
existing  of  the  laws  of  electricity  much  more  severely.  It  was 
very  soon  discovered,  for  example,  that  the  rate  at  which  signals 
could  be  transmitted,  and  the  battery  power  or  other  electro- 
motive force  necessary  to  effect  the  transmission,  did  not,  as  in 
land  lines,  depend  almost  entirely  on  the  size  and  length  of  the* 
conductors  used.  The  electrostatic  capacity  of  the  line  imme- 
diately began  to  play  an  important  part,  and  signals  were  found 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  195 

not  to  be  transmitted  so  instantaneously  as  they  were  on  exist- 
ing land  lines.  Again,  there  was  no  opportunity  of  using 
relays,  so  as  to  effectively  shorten  the  longer  lines,  and  the  in- 
vestigations of  Thomson  led  him  to  point  out  that  the  rate  of 
signaling  would  be  inversely  as  the  square  of  the  length. 

Such  difficulties  as  these,  combined  with  the  very  evident  dif- 
ficulties involved  in  manufacturing  and  submerging  a  cable  in 
deep  water,  were,  to  say  the  least,  discouraging.  Experiments 
on  short  lengths  in  the  English  Channel  and  elsewhere  proving 
successful,  faith  in  the  possibility  of  longer  cables  grew,  and 
very  soon,  through  the  enterprise  of  a  few  American  and  Eng- 
lish business  and  scientific  men,  an  attempt  was  made  to  lay  a 
cable  across  the  Atlantic.  The  history  of  that  undertaking 
and  its  various  failures  are  almost  common  knowledge,  but 
perseverance  conquered  all  the  difficulties,  and  to-day  no  one 
thinks  of  the  probability  of  failure  when  a  long  cable  is  pro- 
posed. 

The  laying  of  long  cables  brought  out  the  fact  that,  as  had 
been  anticipated,  existing  telegraphic  apparatus  was  not  of 
great  enough  sensibility  to  render  moderately  rapid  signaling 
possible.  This  difficulty  was  almost  immediately  met  by  the 
mirror  galvanoscopic  receiver  of  Thomson,  followed  some 
years  later  by  his  siphon  recorder,  which  is  undoubtedly  by  far 
the  most  sensitive  recording  telegraph  known.  Improved 
methods  of  working  cables  soon  followed,  among  which,  in  the 
early  days,  probably  the  most  notable  is  the  introduction  of 
condensers  between  the  ends  of  the  cable  and  the  earth  by 
Varley.  The  successful  duplexing  of  cables  by  Muirhead  has 
already  been  referred  to,  but  it  is  somewhat  curious  to  note  that 
although  the  electricians  interested  in  cable  working  were 
familiar,  as  early  as  1856  and  perhaps  earlier,  with  the  difficulty 
"which  had  prevented  success  on  land  lines,  no  one  seems  to 
have  thought  of  applying  the  remedy.  As  early  as  1858  a 
patent  was  taken  ont  by  Thomson,  in  which  he  proposed  to 
overcome  the  difficulty  of  duplexing  a  cable  by  a  mechanical 
arrangement  for  varying  the  compensating  currents  at  the  same 
rate  that  the  signaling  current  varies.  He  has  since  said  that 
he  did  not  propose  the  use  of  condensers,  because  a  means  of 
producing  a  sufficiently  good  model  cable  was  not  then  known. 


196  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

Such  a  model  cable  was  not  available  for  nearly  twenty  years-, 
after  the  above  date,  and  was  finally  produced  by  making  prac- 
tically a  copy  of  the  actual  cable,  using  tinfoil  strips  for  the 
conductor  insulated  from  an  earth  plate  by  means  of  thin  paraf- 
fined paper,  so  as  to  give  electrostatic  capacity. 

The  invention  of  the  telephone  constitutes  one  of  the  greatest 
advances  that  have  been  made  in  telegraphic  communication. 
This  is  an  acoustic  telegraph,  which  has  the  very  important 
merit  that  the  audible  signals  are  spoken  words,  and  hence  the 
instruments  can  be  used  by  any  one  who  can  hear  and  speak 
and  who  understands  the  language  in  which  the  message  is 
transmitted. 

It  is  well  known  that  sound  is  transmitted  through  the  air 
from  the  source  to  the  hearer  by  waves  of  condensation  and 
rarefaction,  which  affect  the  drum  of  the  ear.  Wheatstone,  as 
early  as  1831,  showed  that  these  waves  could  be  transmitted 
from  one  place  to  another,  at  a  moderate  distance,  through 
wooden  rods  and  afterward  conveyed  to  the  ear  by  the  vibra- 
tions given  to  the  air  by  the  end  of  the  rod.  Similarly,  vibrations 
given  to  one  diaphragm  can  be  conveyed  to  another,  at  a  con- 
siderable distance,  by  connecting  the  two  diaphragms  together 
by  a  stretched  cord  or  wire.  This  appears  to  have  been  known 
for  several  centuries  in  the  central  districts  of  India,  and  a. 
similar  apparatus  was  described  by  Hook  in  1667.  A  similar 
apparatus  is  now  used  and  known  as  the  mechanical  telephone. 

To  cause  the  vibrations  of  one  diaphragm  to  produce  corre- 
sponding vibrations  in  another  diaphragm,  at  a  distance,  through 
the  agency  of  an  electric  current,  was  the  problem  of  the  electric 
telephone.  The  first  to  propose  this  seems  to  have  been  Charles 
Bourseul,  who,  in  1854,  suggested  the  use  of  two  plates — one 
at  the  transmitting  station,  which,  by  the  varying  pressure  of 
the  air  due  to  the  sound  waves,  would  open  and  close  an  electric 
circuit ;  while  the  other  was  to  be  acted  on  at  the  receiving 
station  by  an  electro-magnet,  through  which  the  coils  of  the 
electric  current  passed.  The  varying  strength  of  the  electro- 
magnet, due  to  the  rapid  succession  of  currents,  was  thus  to  be 
taken  advantage  of  to  give  the  proper  succession  of  impulses 
to  the  receiving  diaphragm.  In  1861  Philip  Reis,  of  Fried- 
richsdorf,  proposed,  in  a  lecture  delivered  before  the  Physical 
Society  of  Frankfort,  to  use  an  instrument,  which  he  called  a 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  197 

telephone,  for  the  reproduction  at  a  distance  of  music  and 
human  speech.  The  apparatus  consisted  of  a  stretched  mem- 
brane forming  part  of  one  side  of  a  box,  into  which,  by  means 
of  a  mouthpiece,  the  sounds  could  be  directed.  This  mem- 
brane was  made  to  open  and  close  an  electric  circuit  at  each 
vibration.  At  the  receiving  end  an  electro-magnet,  consisting 
of  a  thin  rod  of  iron  surrounded  by  a  coil,  was  placed.  The 
successive  interruptions  and  closings  of  this  electric  current 
was,  in  accordance  with  a  discovery  made  by  Dr.  Page,  of 
Salem,  Mass.,  in  1837,  to  produce  sounds  of  the  same  pitch  as 
those  of  the  sound  directed  into  the  box  of  the  transmitter. 
This  method  failed  for  speech,  for  the  simple  reason  that  speech 
has  more  characteristics  than  pitch  ;  and  it  was  only  partially 
successful  for  musical  sounds,  from  its  inability  to  produce? 
with  any  approach  to  accuracy,  the  necessary  variations  of 
loudness  and  quality. 

To  produce  not  only  the  frequency  of  vibration,  but  also  the 
loudness  and  quality  of  the  sounds  evidently  required  a  trans- 
mitter and  a  receiver  which  did  not  depend  for  its  action  on 
simple  interruption  of  the  current,  but  which  varied  it  in  an 
undulating  manner,  similar  to  the  variations  of  pressure  to 
which  the  diaphragm  receiving  the  sound  vibrations  was  sub- 
jected due  to  the  sound  waves.  Such  an  apparatus  of  a  very 
perfect  type  was  produced  by  Graham  Bell  in  1876,  who,  in  the 
descriptions  of  his  apparatus  given  in  his  patent  specifications 
and  elsewhere,  shows  that  he  thoroughly  understood  what  had 
to  be  done.  We  all  know  from  actual  experience  that  the  in- 
strument which  he  produced  did  it.  Since  the  publication  of 
Bell's  invention  a  great  many  modifications  have  been  pro- 
duced. Most  of  them  have,  however,  been  held  to  embody  the 
same  essential  principle  as  that  of  Bell,  the  variation  being 
simply  one  of  mechanical  arrangement.  One  field  of  investiga- 
tion has,  however,  been  fruitful  of  improvement.  In  the 
original  patent  of  Bell,  and  also  in  a  caveat  filed  almost  simul- 
taneously by  KHsha  Gray,  it  is  pointed  out  that  the  variations 
of  the  current  may  be  produced  by  causing  the  vibrations  of 
the  diaphragm  to  vary  the  resistance  of  the  circuit.  This  idea 
has  proved  of  great  value  in  increasing  the  loudness  of  the 
sounds  given  out  by  the  Bell  telephone  when  used  as  a  receiver. 
A  great  many  forms  of  these  ' '  microphone ' '  transmitters  have 


198  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

been  invented.  Among  those  who  have  made  important  con- 
tributions we  may  mention  Berliner,  Blake,  Edison,  Gower, 
Gray,  Hughes  and  Hunnings. 

Another  form  of  telephone  has  been  proposed  by  Professor 
Dolbear.  In  this  telephone  system  one  diaphragm  of  the 
receiver  is  made  to  form  one  plate  of  an  electric  condenser,  and 
the  varying  electric  force  on  this  plate,  due  to  the  fluctuations 
of  the  charge,  causes  it  to  vibrate  in  response  to  the  varying 
electro-motive  force  produced  by  the  transmitter.  This  con- 
denser telephone  can  evidently  be  used  either  as  a  transmitter 
or  as  a  receiver,  and,  as  Dolbear  has  pointed  out,  may  be  ren- 
dered sensitive  by  keeping  one  plate  of  the  condenser  at  a  high 
potential. 

Another  interesting  discovery  in  this  subject  should  be 
mentioned,  namely,  the  transmission  of  speech  from  one  place 
to  another  by  means  of  beams  of  light  or  radiant  heat.  This 
was  based  originally  on  the  discovery  by  May  and  Smith  of 
the  variation  of  the  electric  resistance  of  selenium  when  ex- 
posed to  light  or  radiant  heat.  Many  other  substances  have 
since  been  found  to  have  the  same  property  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree.  The  experiments  of  Bell  and  Sumner  Tainter  have 
shown  that  if  a  beam  of  light  be  reflected  from  a  thin  mirror, 
and,  by  means  of  lenses  or  otherwise,  made  to  pass  as  a 
parallel  beam  from  the  transmitter  to  the  receiving  station,  and 
there  received  on  a  bar  or  series  of  bars,  or  a  coil  of  a  sub- 
stance having  the  properties  of  selenium,  the  resistance  of  this 
substance  will  be  affected  by  vibration  of  the  mirror.  If,  then, 
the  mirror  be  used  as  a  transmitting  diaphragm,  like  that  of  a 
telephone  transmitter,  words  spoken  to  the  mirror  will  be 
repeated  by  a  telephone,  in  the  circuit  of  which  the  selenium 
is  placed  and  through  which  an  electric  current  is  kept  flowing. 

In  this  address  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  sketch  very 
briefly  the  development  of  the  application  of  electricity  to  the 
transmission  of  intelligence.  Many  important  applications 
(as,  for  example,  fire-alarms  and  railway  signal  systems,  etc.) 
have  not  been  referred  to,  and  a  host  of  important  contributors 
have,  as  a  matter  of  necessity,  been  entirely  ignored.  To  go 
into  detail,  and  do  justice  to  every  one  who  has  contributed 
to  the  present  state  of  the  electric  telegraph  was  an  impossi- 
bility and  has  not  been  attempted. 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    7V1E    CONGRESS.  199 


INTERNATIONAL     PROTECTION    OF    INDUSTRIAL 

PROPERTY. 

BY  F.  A.  SEELY,  A.  M.,  OF  PENNSYLVANIA,  PRINCIPAL   EXAMINER 

U.   S.    PATENTfOFFICE. 


The  convenient  phrase  Industrial  Property,  recently  natu- 
ralized into  our  language,  conies  to  us  from  the  French,  who- 
are  more  apt  than  we  in  finding  terms  to  express  generic  ideas. 
It  does  not  include  all  property  employed  in  industry,  but  only 
incorporeal  property  related  to  production  and  trade,  and  has  its 
analogue  in  the  phrase  Literary  and  Artistic  Property.  The 
latter  includes  the  property  of  the  author  and  artist  in  the  pro- 
ductions of  their  labor  and  genius  ;  such,  in  fact,  as  we  usually 
define  by  the  term  copyright.  Industrial  property  includes  a 
wide  field  of  incorporeal  rights,  such  as  are  embraced  in 
mechanical  and  design  patents  and  trade-marks,  including 
many  for  which  the  English  language  scarcely  has  names. 
The  phrase  Good-Will  is  made  with  us  to  cover  a  number  of 
rights  constituting  a  sort  of  property,  for  which  the  French 
have  specific  names  and  a  place  in  their  jurisprudence. 

For  an  occasion  like  this  I  shall  not  attempt  to  traverse  so 
wide  a  field  as  implied  by  the  title  assigned  to  m^.  The 
general  acquiescence  of  the  commercial  world  in  the  sentiment 
that  the  name  and  trade-mark  of  a  manufacturer  are  his  prop- 
erty under  the  law  of  nations,  long  proclaimed  in  Europe, 
makes  their  international  protection  comparatively  easy.  It 
has  been  accomplished  by  treaty  stipulations  in  many  in- 
stances, in  others  it  has  been  conceded  without  question  as  a 
common  law  right.  In  few  cases,  except  where  shameless 
piracy  of  trade-marks  is  countenanced  by  a  corrupt  trade 
morality,  is  there  serious  difficulty  in  securing  their  protection. 
There  are  some  differences  in  definition  yet  to  be  adjusted, 
some  minor  obstacles  to  be  removed,  but  commerce  is  wielding 
its  mighty  influence  to  bring  the  nations  of  the  world  into 
constantly  closer  relationships,  and  to  throw  down  the  barriers 


200  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

that  civilization  and  Christianity  have  found  hitherto  insupera- 
ble. Everything  leads  to  the  belief  that  before  long  the  inter- 
national character  of  this  kind  of  property  will  be  completely 
recognized  and  full  protection  accorded  to  it  in  all  commercial 
nations.  Dismissing,  therefore,  this  branch  of  the  subject,  I 
shall  consider  briefly  the  history  of  International  Protection  for 
Mechanical  Inventions  and  its  present  aspect  from  an  American 
standpoint. 

The  world  was  very  slow  in  coming  to  the  notion  of  Indus- 
trial Property.  No  trace  of  it  exists  in  ancient  laws  or  customs. 
Athens  could  reward  with  a  laurel  crown  the  originator  of  a 
new  idea  in  art,  but  could  not  conceive  that  he  possessed  any 
rights  in  its  exercise.  In  Sparta  industry  was  scorned  as  the 
lot  of  the  slave,  whose  rights  were  systematically  crushed.  In 
Rome  the  laborer  had  neither  rights  nor  property,  and  in  the 
systems  of  law  derived  from  Rome  there  is  no  recognition  of 
the  rights  of  inventors  or  artisans.  During  the  dark  period  of 
the  Middle  Ages  many  industries  flourished,  but  under  the 
restrictions  of  the  feudal  system,  and  the  more  oppressive 
tyranny  of  trade  corporations,  the  personal  rights  of  the  arti- 
san were  lost  sight  of.  When  even  the  right  to  work  was  a 
privilege,  accorded  by  favor  and  hampered  by  arbitrary  and 
cruel  regulations,  the  notion  of  a  property-right  in  an  inven- 
tion, or  an  improvement  in  the  arts,  or  a  trade-mark,  was 
inconceivable. 

Under  the  fixed  rule  of  the  Guilds  the  introduction  of  a  new 
improvement  was  next  to  impossible,  and  the  marks  affixed  to 
merchandise  to  indicate  its  origin  were  property  in  about  the 
same  sense  that  the  brand  and  chains  of  a  convict  are  his. 
They  served  to  point  out  the  producer  of  merchandise  in  order 
that  if  it  failed  to  come  up  to  the  required  standard  the  harsh 
and  irrational  penalties  which  the  times  permitted  might  be 
visited  upon  the  proper  victim. 

It  is  not  till  the  darkness  of  the  Middle  Ages  has  passed, 
and  the  more  reasonable  ideas  of  modern  times  are  gleaming 
in  the  horizon,  that  the  notion  is  evolved  of  remuneration  to 
the  inventor  of  a  new  and  useful  art.  Under  the  Tudors  in 
England,  among  other  privileges  that  flowed  from  royal  favor, 
the  exclusive  right  was  sometimes  accorded  to  exercise  within 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  201 

the  realm  the  entire  industry  in  which  the  beneficiary  had 
made  a  useful  improvement.  Such  privileges,  going  by  grace 
rather  than  as  of  right,  were  allied  to  the  mass  of  other  privi- 
leges and  monopolies  which  were  slowly  crushing  the  life  from 
English  industry. 

Two  years  after  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  on  Plymouth 
Rock  the  first  step  in  the  history  of  the  world  was  taken  to- 
wards the  recognition  of  Industrial  Property  by  the  enactment 
of  the  law  of  monopolies  of  James  I,  which  abolished  privileges 
while  reserving  to  the  Crown  the  right  to  grant  patents  to  the 
authors  of  new  and  useful  inventions.  It  would  be  a  mistake 
to  assume  that  the  sentiment  expressed  in  this  law  recognized 
a  right  of  property  in  an  invention.  The  patents  granted  under 
it  still  flowed  from  royal  favor.  They  were  less  arbitrary  than 
the  privileges  which  preceded  them,  since  they  were  granted 
for  limited  times,  and  the  monopolies  they  created  were  re- 
stricted to  the  enjoyment  of  the  new  invention  of  which  they 
were  the  object.  For  this  reason  they  ceased  to  be  an  obstacle 
to  industry,  but  became  the  reward  of  the  inventor,  and  laid  the 
foundation  for  the  vast  industrial  supremacy  Great  Britain  has 
so  long  enjoyed. 

A  hundred  and  forty  years  later,  by  a  decree  of  Louis  XV, 
December  24,  1762,  a  similar  step  was  taken  in  France.  The 
preamble  to  this  decree  recites  that  the  privileges  conferred  for 
the  purpose  of  compensating  inventors  had  failed  of  their  ob- 
ject, because,  being  accorded  for  unlimited  time,  they  had  be- 
come rather  an  hereditary  patrimony  than  a  personal  reward  to 
the  inventor.  Their  term  was  therefore  fixed  at  fifteen  years. 
This  legislation,  like  all  before  it,  recognized  no  rights  of  the 
inventor,  but  left  the  concession  to  the  caprice  of  power,  and 
its  exercise  subject  to  the  malicious  opposition  of  the  corpora- 
tions. The  first  step  toward  the  acknowledgment  of  the  rights 
of  inventors  in  France  was  in  an  edict  of  the  same  king,  March 
12,  1776,  of  which  the  philosophic  Turgot  was  the  author,  and 
which  recognized  these  rights  as  natural  and  common.  ' '  God, ' ' 
said  this  edict,  * '  in  giving  to  man  needs,  and  in  making  neces- 
sary to  him  the  recourse  of  labor,  has  made  the  right  to  labor 
the  property  of  every  man ;  and  this  property  is  the  first,  the 
most  sacred,  and  the  most  imprescriptible  of  all  rights."  This 


202  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

concession  of  the  rights  of  labor  was  a  wonderful  one  for  the 
old  regime  in  France  ;  but  feudalism  still  reared  its  head,  and 
the  conditions  growing  out  of  its  arrogant  claims,  and  the  arbi- 
trary power  of  the  trade  corporations,  were  an  insuperable  ob- 
stacle to  the  complete  enfranchisement  of  industry. 

Net  many  years  were  to  elapse,  but  a  new  light  was  to  flash 
over  Europe  from  a  source  scarcely  conceivable  at  that  time. 
We  may  confidently  claim  that  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  in  giving  to  Congress  the  power  to  secure  to  authors  and 
inventors  for  a  limited  time  the  exclusive  right  to  their  respect- 
ive writings  and  discoveries,  was  the  first  practical  and  effective 
step  in  the  history  of  the  world  for  the  recognition  of  property 
in  inventions. 

The  act  of  April  10,  1790,  quickly  followed,  enforcing  the 
provision  of  the  Constitution  and  establishing  for  the  United 
States  the  rights  of  the  inventor.  It  is  conceivable  that  this 
feature  of  the  Constitution  may  have  been  suggested  in  part  by 
the  French  edict  of  1776  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  France  was 
prompt  to  welcome  back  the  principle  ;  and  in  the  law  of  Jan- 
uary 7,  1791,  the  National  Assembly  provided  for  the  protec- 
tion of  new  inventions.  The  preamble  of  this  law  is  a  noble 
statement  of  what  is  true  in  principle  and  wise  in  policy.  It 
runs  thus : 

"The  National  Assembly,  considering  that  every  new  idea, 
whose  manifestation  or  development  may  become  useful  to  so- 
ciety, belongs  to  him  who  has  conceived  it,  and  that  not  to  re- 
gard an  industrial  invention  as  the  property  of  its  author  would 
be  to  attack  the  essential  rights  of  man  ;  considering  at  the 
same  time  how  much  the  lack  of  a  positive  and  authentic  dec- 
laration of  this  truth  may  have  contributed  till  now  to  discour- 
age French  industry  by  occasioning  the  emigration  of  numerous 
distinguished  artists,  and  by  causing  to  pass  out  of  the  country 
a  great  number  of  new  inventions  from  which  this  Empire  ought 
to  have  drawn  the  first  advantages  ;  considering  finally  that  all 
the  principles  of  justice,  of  public  order,  and  of  national  inter- 
est, imperatively  command  that  it  determine  for  the  future  the 
opinion  of  French  citizens  with  regard  to  this  class  of  property 
by  a  law  which  consecrates  and  protects  it,  decrees — " 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  203 

The  law  which  followed,  firmly  establishing  the  principle  of 
property  in  inventions,  survived  in  France  through  all  her  po- 
litical changes  for  the  next  half  century,  being  superseded  by 
a  new  law  in  1844.  Meanwhile  nearly  all  the  countries  of  Con- 
tinental Kurope  had  enacted  patent  laws ;  and  the  principle, 
originating  in  the  mutterings  of  discontent  that  led  to  the  Rev- 
olution in  England,  carried  to  its  full  extent  as  the  logical  se- 
quence of  American  independence,  and  finding  its  foothold  in 
Continental  Kurope  during  the  feverish  intellectual  and  politi- 
cal conditions  of  the  French  Revolution,  has  become  the  com- 
mon heritage  of  the  civilized  world. 

Those  who  declaim  against  patent  rights  as  grinding  monop- 
olies for  the  oppression  of  the  artisan  may  possibly  learn  from 
this  history  that  in  the  economics  of  modern  life  the  patent  sys- 
tem is  the  first  fruit  of  the  protest  of  labor  against  enthroned 
and  ancient  privilege.  It  is  the  offspring  of  revolution  and  the 
very  reverse  of  monopoly.  It  was  created  on  the  demand  of  the 
common  people  simultaneously  with  the  overthrow  of  monopo- 
lies and  with  the  establishment  of  civil  and  religious  freedom. 
It  is  a  perpetual  token  of  the  concession  made  to  the  rights  of 
labor  by  power  and  privilege.  In  its  last  analysis  the  right  in- 
volved in  a  patent  is  the  right  to  work  and  to  the  legitimate 
rewards  of  intelligent  industry  ;  and  we  wonder  why  the  world 
so  long  refused  it  recognition,  or  that,  as  its  nature  has  been 
better  understood,  opposition  to  it  should  have  been  maintained. 
But  nothing  dies  harder  than  error  and  prejudice,  and  indus- 
trial freedom  was  only  to  be  secured  at  the  cost  of  such  revolu- 
tions on  both  continents  as  have  established  other  human  rights 
by  the  overthrow  of  thrones  and  the  dismemberment  of  empires. 

There  is  always  room  for  dispute  about  the  efficacy  of  dif- 
ferent systems  for  the  protection  of  the  inventor  and  for  the 
encouragement  of  industry,  but  the  truth  of  the  declaration 
solemnly  made  in  France  a  century  ago  grows  ever  clearer, 
until  it  is  hard  to  find  an  intelligent  person  to  dispute  it,  that 
' '  not  to  regard  an  industrial  invention  as  the  property  of  its 
author  is  to  attack  the  essential  rights  of  man." 

The  establishment  among  European  nations  of  the  idea  of 
property  in  inventions,  and  of  its  protection  by  law,  was  at  last 
achieved.  It  was  a  step  magnificent  in  what  it  embodied,  and 


204  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

its  results  upon  industry,  commerce  and  social  life  have  passed 
all  computation.  But  the  new  conditions  which  it  created 
quickly  proved  that  the  limited  protection  accorded  by  national 
laws  failed  to  a  great  degree  of  its  purpose.  The  swift  and  con- 
stant intercommunication  of  ideas,  to  which  national  frontiers 
were  no  barrier,  carried  the  improvements  in  the  arts  made  in 
any  nation  to  the  confines  of  the  civilized  world,  and  for  the.se 
improvements,  beyond  the  limits  of  his  own  nation,  the  inventor 
had  no  rights  that  other  nations  would  respect.  An  invention 
patented  in  one  country  was  denied  protection  in  others,  and 
thus,  while  it  contributed  to  promote  the  industries  of  all,  pro- 
tection was  accorded  to  its  inventor  in  only  one,  and  was, 
therefore,  disproportionate  to  the  benefits  the  world  derived 
from  it. 

Such  a  state  of  things  is  repugnant  to  human  sense  of  justice. 
The  same  conception  of  the  rights  of  the  inventor  that  had 
found  expression  in  the  constitutions  of  the  United  States  and 
of  the  French  republic  forced  thinking  men  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  rights  in  question  could  not  be  bounded  by  geographic 
lines,  but  that  the  protection  of  the  inventor  should  be  co- 
extensive with  the  benefits  he  has  conferred  upon  mankind. 
Hence  the  idea  of  international  protection. 

How  far  the  earlier  patent  laws  fell  short  of  recognizing  the 
rights  of  alien  inventors  may  be  seen  by  a  brief  inspection  of 
the  successive  statutes  of  the  United  States. 

The  act  of  1790  grants  patents  without  restriction  to  "any 
person  ;"  but  this  thoughtless  liberality  was  restricted  by  the 
act  of  1793,  by  which  patents  were  granted  only  to  "any 
person  being  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,"  thus  cutting  off 
the  alien  from  the  privilege.  The  pendulum  had  swung  too 
far,  for  it  could  not  but  be  seen  that  in  a  new  country  inviting 
immigration  the  prospective  citizen  ought  to  enjoy  the  same 
rights  as  the  citizen  in  this  respect ;  and  in  the  first  section  of 
the  act  of  1800  all  rights  respecting  patents  were  given  to 
aliens  who  had  resided  two  years  in  the  country,  conditioned 
upon  an  oath  that  the  invention  had  not  been  known  or  used 
in  this  or  in  any  foreign  country.  In  this  act  the  pendulum 
appears  to  have  swung  too  far  the  other  way,  since  under  it 
two  years  residence  in  the  country,  without  intention  to  remain 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE   CONGRESS.  205 

or  to  become  a  citizen,  gave  the  alien  inventor  all  the  rights  of 
the  citizen.  But  this  continued  the  law  until  1832,  when  it  was 
further  amended  so  as  to  give  the  privilege  of  a  patent  to  the 
alien  who  at  the  time  of  petitioning  was  a  resident  of  the  United 
States,  and  had  declared  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen,  a 
condition  which  practically  survives  in  the  existing  law  for 
caveats.  This  act  guarded  against  abuse  by  providing  that  the 
patent  should  be  forfeited  if  the  inventor  failed  to  become  a 
citizen  within  the  earliest  period  possible  for  him. 

It  is  noticeable  that  as  yet  there  is  no  indication  of  protecting 
foreign  inventors,  only  those  of  citizens  of  the  United  States 
and  alien  residents,  and  the  inventions  of  the  rest  of  the  world 
are  left  free  to  appropriation  by  all  who  chose  to  employ  them, 
while  a  prior  foreign  patent  is  made  a  bar  to  a  patent  in  this 
country. 

In  1836  the  barriers  to  granting  patents  to  aliens  were  thrown 
down.  Any  person  might  now  receive  a  patent,  as  under  the 
act  of  1790,  but  with  the  remarkable  provision  that,  while  the 
fee  in  an  application  to  be  paid  by  a  citizen  or  resident  alien 
was  but  thirty  dollars,  the  fee  to  be  paid  by  foreigners  generally 
was  fixed  at  three  hundred  dollars,  and  that  to  be  paid  by  Brit- 
ish subjects  was  five  hundred  dollars.  This  was  reciprocity 
with  a  vengeance  ;  but  these  invidious  distinctions  remained  in 
the  law  until  they  were  completely  wiped  out  by  the  act  of  1861. 

Under  the  act  of  1836  a  prior  patent  or  printed  publication 
in  a  foreign  country  constituted  a  bar  to  the  grant  of  a  patent 
in  the  United  States,  but  this  bar  was  removed  by  the  sixth 
section  of  the  act  of  1839.  Since  that  act,  and  since  the  re- 
moval in  1 86 1  of  discriminating  fees,  the  benefits  of  the  patent 
law  of  the  United  States  have  been  freely  open  to  all  the  world. 
Our  law  gives  to  all  men  of  all  nations  the  same  privileges,  and 
recognizes  to  the  fullest  extent  the  international  character  of 
property  in  inventions.  In  this  respect,  as  in  the  original  com- 
plete recognition  of  the  rights  of  the  inventor,  the  United  States 
may  claim  to  have  led  the  world  and  to  be  leading  it  still. 

Had  the  nations  of  Europe  in  the  development  of  their  patent 
systems  been  led  to  adopt  similar  wise  and  liberal  principles, 
the  difficulties  that  now  environ  international  protection  could 
never  have  been  experienced.  The  features  of  these  systems 


206  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

which  stand  in  the  way  of  complete  reciprocity  are  now  to-be 
considered. 

The  patent  systems  of  European  nations  have  not  been  framed 
upon  the  same  model,  but  their  clearly  defined  purpose  is  to 
promote  the  useful  arts  by  rewarding  the  inventor  of  a  new  im- 
provement, in  securing  to  him  the  exclusive  enjoyment  of  his 
invention  for  a  limited  term.  Agreeing  in  this  general  prin- 
ciple, they  differ  widely  in  details  of  procedure  and  in  their 
exactions  of  the  inventor  and  patentee.  Among  the  most  im- 
portant differences  are  those  between  systems  which  require  and 
those  which  dispense  with  preliminary  examinations  into  nov- 
elty, between  those  which  grant  the  patent  to  the  first  appli- 
cant on  the  assumption  that  he  is  the  inventor,  and  those  which 
require  of  the  applicant  evidence  that  he  in  good  faith  be- 
lieves himself  to  be  the  first  inventor,  and  between  those  which 
publish  as  incidental  to  the  application,  and  those  in  which 
publication  is  only  incidental  to  the  grant.  Since  in  theory 
the  patent  under  all  laws  goes  to  the  inventor,  little  difficulty 
would  arise  in -affording  international  protection  if  the  practice 
were  made  to  conform  to  the  theory  of  law,  and  no  patent 
granted  except  on  showing  by  his  own  oath,  or  otherwise,  that 
the  person  filing  the  application  was  the  true  inventor  of  that 
for  which  he  seeks  protection.  It  is  out  of  this  defect  in  prac- 
tice, and  the  provision  in  the  laws  of  many  nations  that  the 
grant  of  a  patent  for  an  invention  already  published  is  void, 
that  the  difficulty  in  securing  international  protection  arises, 
since  it  results  that  an  inventor,  having  first  patented  his  in- 
vention at  home,  is  excluded  by  virtue  of  official  publication  in 
his  own  country  from  securing  protection  abroad,  while  any 
other  person  may  anticipate  the  true  inventor  by  depositing  an 
application  in  another  country,  and  so  secure  to  himself  the 
protection  not  justly  his.  Systems  like  these  fail  of  their 
avowed  object,  and  stimulate  industry  by  the  encouragement  of 
piracy.  They  date  from  a  period  when  no  nation  cared  for  the 
rights  of  the  alien,  when  the  recognized  standard  of  trade  mo- 
rality sanctioned  the  refusal  in  one  country  of  protection  to  the 
incorporeal  rights  of  the  citizens  of  another,  and  when  the  in- 
ternational protection  of  industrial  property  was  not  dreamed 
of.  And  now,  when  broader  views  prevail  of  the  rights  of  aliens, 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  207 

the  narrow  ideas  embodied  in  laws  long  outgrown  form  the 
obstacle  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  object  desired.  These 
laws  are  sustained  by  the  same  spirit  of  conservatism  in  which, 
in  all  ages,  every  ancient  evil  has  intrenched  itself. 

The  laws  of  the  leading  patent-granting  nations  of  Europe — 
England,  France  and  Germany — may  be  taken  as  the  type  of 
all.  In  the  two  latter  the  patent  is  refused  or  void  if  a  prior 
publication  has  been  made  of  the  invention  anywhere.  In 
England,  if  prior  publication  has  occurred  within  the  realm. 
Considered  with  relation  to  the  United  States  these  conditions 
are  practically  identical,  and  cut  off  the  American  inventor 
from  protection  after  the  grant  of  his  patent  at  home.  Neither 
nation  requires  an  oath  of  invention,  and  the  American  inventor 
is,  therefore,  helpless  against  the  unscrupulous  person  who, 
having  acquired  knowledge  of  his  invention,  may,  during  the 
pendency  of  his  application  at  home,  take  steps  to  secure  a 
patent  abroad. 

This  is  the  American  aspect  of  the  conditions  which,  in  these 
and  other  countries,  bear  so  hard  upon  the  alien,  and  which  the 
ingenuity  of  inventors  and  the  craft  of  statesmanship  have 
sought  for  many  years  to  remove. 

The  question  how  to  protect  the  true  inventor  simultaneously 
in  all  countries  has  baffled  those  who  could  not  see  clearly  that 
the  only  difficulty  arises  from  narrow  and  ungenerous  laws,  the 
repeal  of  which  by  common  consent  would  resolve  the  whole 
problem.  In  this  state  of  things  it  has  been  necessary  to  con- 
sider how  the  result  may  be  accomplished  under  existing  laws. 
Protection  has  been  secured  by  the  difficult  and  often  hazardous 
process  of  depositing  applications  on  the  same  day  in  all  the 
States  in  which  protection  is  desired,  whereby  the  legal  bar  of 
antecedent  publication  is  avoided  in  all.  The  United  States 
patentee  modifies  this  arrangement  by  filing  his  application  in 
the  countries  of  Europe  on  the  same  day  upon  which  his 
patent  is  granted  at  home.  This  serves  two  purposes,  it  avoids 
vitiating  his  foreign  patent  by  reason  of  a  prior  publication 
here,  and  it  avoids  the  consequences  of  an  unfortunate  feature 
of  our  law,  which  abridges  his  domestic  patent  by  reason  of  a 
prior  patent  abroad.  This  system,  though  ingenious,  is  costly 


208  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

and  liable  to  failure  through  a  variety  of  accidents,  but  it  is  the 
best  hitherto  devised  under  present  conditions. 

It  seems  possible  to  find  some  way  acceptable  to  all  commer- 
cial nations,  and  harmonious  with  all  patent  systems,  by  which 
a  plain  and  easy  road  could  be  opened  to  the  international 
protection  of  the  inventor  without  resort  to  tricks,  and  not 
subject  to  accident  or  unreasonable  expense.  It  may  be  that 
the  statesmanship  of  the  Old  World  has  by  some  defect  of 
vision  failed  to  see  the  way  out  of  the  difficulty  which  lies 
directly  under  its  eyes.  It  is  at  least  remarkable  that  with  the 
consensus  of  Hurope  that  publication  of  an  invention  must  be  a 
bar  to  the  grant  of  a  subsequent  patent  in  another  country,  or 
vitiate  one  if  obtained,  it  has  "hot  occurred  to  their  wisdom  that 
absolute  relief  would  be  afforded  if  (by  a  slight  modification  of 
their  laws)  they  would  provide  that  such  publication  shall  not 
be  a  bar  to  the  true  inventor  if  made  in  pursuance  of  the  laws  of 
his  own  country,  and  incidental  to  protection  there.  Without 
entering  into  details  it  would  seem  that,  if  there  is  an  honest 
purpose  to  protect  the  inventor,  so  much  of  a  concession  should 
be  made  to  him,  with  such  limitations  as  to  time  and  otherwise 
as  might  seem  just,  but  on  the  whole  relieving  him  of  the  hard 
conditions  under  which  he  forfeits  his  rights  abroad  by  virtue 
of  obedience  to  the  law  at  home.  Such  action  by  the  various 
nations  would  lay  the  foundation  for  true  reciprocity.  If  it 
would  be  an  assimilation  to  the  law  of  the  United  States  it  is 
because  that  law,  far  in  advance  of  those  of  Europe,  already 
recognizes  the  international  principle.  If  to  this  amendment 
were  added  another,  to  the  effect  that  patents  granted  in  the 
different  countries  should  be  independent  of  each  other  in 
respect  to  their  duration,  a  point  in  which  our  own  law  is  still 
at  fault,  international  protection  would  be  practically  accom- 
plished. The  features  of  some  patent  laws,  involving  the  pay- 
ment of  dues  and  the  working  of  the  invention  to  keep  the 
patent  in  force,  may  be  disregarded  so  long  as  they  subject  the 
alien  to  no  unequal  burden  beyond  what  comes  from  his  re- 
moteness, a  difficulty  that  neither  laws  nor  treaties  can  remedy. 

To  the  average  American  intellect  such  a  proposition  appears 
equitable,  logical,  straightforward,  and  adapted  to  its  end.  But 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  209 

it  has  not  so  appeared  to  those  who  have  heretofore  attempted 
to  solve  the  question  by  international  compacts. 

The  outcome  of  efforts  hitherto  made  in  this  direction  in 
America  and  Europe  is  to  be  found  in  two  notable  schemes, 
recently  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  The  first  of  these  is  the  International  Convention  for 
the  Protection  of  Industrial  Property,  framed  in  Paris  in  1880, 
and  signed  by  plenipotentiaries  of  many  American  and  Euro- 
pean powers  in  1883.  This  Convention  forms  the  basis  for  the 
International  Union  for  the  Protection  of  Industrial  Property, 
of  which  the  United  States  became  a  member  in  1887. 

Having  been  drafted  by  a  committee  appointed  by  the  French 
Government,  it  necessarily  embodies  French  ideas.  It  was 
earnestly  discussed  by  delegates  from  various  powers  ;  but,  the 
United  States  being  represented  by  one  of  our  Ministers  at  a 
foreign  court,  who  had  no  particular  knowledge  of  the  subject, 
the  peculiar  features  of  our  law  were  not  brought  to  the  atten- 
tion of  the  conference.  The  treaty  was  adopted  with  slight 
modifications  of  the  original  draft.  Its  vital  point  is  the  provis- 
ion of  a  limited  period  (called  a  period  of  priority)  within  which 
an  inventor,  having  first  filed  an  application  for  a  patent  at  home, 
may  secure  protection  in  other  countries  without  having  his 
rights  vitiated  by  reason  of  the  publication  of  the  invention  in 
his  own  country,  or  even  by  the  grant  of  a  patent  for  the  same 
invention  to  a  third  party  during  the  period.  This  is  a  long 
step  toward  international  protection,  but  signally  defective  in 
principle,  and  from  our  aspect  of  it  a  practical  failure.  It  is 
not  the  deposit  of  an  application  in  one  country  that  vitiates 
a  subsequent  patent  in  another,  but  the  publication  conse- 
quent on  such  deposit.  And  it  would  seem  to  have  been  the 
practical  course  to  make  the  period  of  priority  run  from  the 
publication,  which  follows  deposit  at  a  greater  or  less  interval, 
but  is  always  the  act  fatal  to  the  subsequent  patent  abroad, 
rather  than  from  the  deposit,  which  has  no  such  fatal  character. 

In  respect  to  countries  where  the  interval  is  short  between  de- 
posit and  publication  the  arrangement  is  effective  ;  but  where, 
as  here,  the  two  events  are  unrelated  in  time,  and  months  or 
years  may  elapse  between  them,  this  period  of  priority,  well 
conceived  as  it  is,  is  practically  without  value.  It  is  too  late 


210  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

now  to  determine  whether  the  provisions  of  the  fourth  article 
of  the  Convention  of  Paris  might  not  have  been  modified  if  the 
features  of  American  law  had  been  brought  to  the  attention  of 
the  conference  of  1880.  Unfortunately  this  was  not  attempted. 

The  Convention  of  Paris  in  providing  that  a  person  who  has 
filed  an  application  for  patent  in  one  of  the  contracting  States 
is  entitled,  by  virtue  of  such  deposit,  to  priority  of  right  in  any 
other  State,  provided  he  file  his  application  there  within  the 
prescribed  interval,  assumes  that  the  grant  of  a  patent  neces- 
sarily follows  the  deposit  of  the  application.  It  ignores  the 
examination  into  novelty  required  by  our  law,  and  for  that 
reason  is  incompatible  with  it. 

Therefore,  without  scrutiny  of  the  details  of  that  Convention, 
many  of  which  are  wise  and  free  from  objection,  and  according 
to  it  its  full  meed  of  praise  for  the  exalted  purpose  it  embodies, 
it  must  be  said  of  it  that  it  fails  of  its  purpose  through  its 
omission  to  recognize  the  wide  differences  in  patent  systems. 

Further  than  this,  by  its  establishment  of  a  period  of  priority 
dating  from  deposit  rather  than  from  publication,  it  has  created 
a  source  of  danger  to  patents  for  the  first  six  months  of  their 
existence.  The  British  patentee  cannot  know  until  seven 
months  of  the  life  of  his  patent  have  passed,  but  that  some 
American  inventor  may  file  in  the  British  Patent  Office  an 
application  for  the  same  invention,  and,  by  virtue  of  an  earlier 
application  in  the  United  States,  cause  the  existing  British 
patent  to  be  annulled.  This  is  no  imaginary  source  of  danger, 
as  is  shown  by  the  history  of  a  case  published  in  the  Illustrated 
Official  Journal  of  the  British  Patent  Office,  January  22,  1890. 
It  appears  that  Main,  an  American,  having  filed  an  application 
in  the  United  States  April  18,  1887,  made  an  application  in 
Great  Britain,  November  18,  1887,  tne  verY  last  day  of  tne 
period  of  priority.  The  grant  of  a  patent  to  him  was  opposed 
on  the  ground  of  a  prior  patent,  to  wit,  No.  8262,  of  June  8, 
1887,  already  five  months  in  existence.  Under  the  provisions 
of  the  Convention  of  Paris,  and  of  section  103  of  the  Patent 
Act  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  Main  demanded  to  have  his 
application  dated  back  to  April  i8th,  the  date  of  his  application 
in  the  United  States.  This  was  allowed  by  the  Comptroller, 
who  was  sustained  on  appeal  by  Sir  Richard  Webster,  Attorney 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  21 1 

General,  the  prior  British  patent  being  thereby  rendered  void. 
An  ambuscade  of  this  character  would  be  impossible  if  the 
period  of  priority,  whether  long  or  short,  were  made  to  run 
from  the  official  publication. 

The  proposition  of  the  United  States  to  amend  the  Conven- 
tion in  this  respect  was  earnestly  contended  for  by  our  dele- 
gates in  the  Madrid  Conference  of  1890.  Objections  to  it  were 
not  so  much  to  the  principle  it  embodied,  as  on  account  of  the 
difficulty  of  changing  existing  laws,  which  in  several  countries 
had  already  been  modified  to  accord  with  the  terms  of  the 
Convention.  The  United  States  delegates  were  not  prepared 
with  an  answer  to  this  objection,  and  they  could  only  hope  by 
an  intelligent  presentation  of  their  proposition,  and  by  bring- 
ing it  to  the  attention  of  the  governments  and  peoples  of  the 
other  States,  that  through  its  equity  and  logical  consistency 
and  practical  character  it  might,  in  course  of  time,  be  more 
favorably  entertained. 

The  second  project  for  the  international  protection  of  inven- 
tions is  contained  in  the  draft  of  a  treaty  agreed  upon  in  the 
International  American  Conference,  held  in  this  city  last  year. 
This  draft  was  reported  to  the  Conference  on  March  3,  1890,  and 
adopted  without  discussion.  It  is  unfortunate  that,  in  a  Con- 
gress assembled  at  this  capital  to  consider  a  subject  like  this, 
pains  should  not  have  been  taken  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  United  States  patent  law  before  formulating  the  terms  of  a 
treaty.  Had  this  been  done,  it  might  have  been  possible  to 
frame  a  series  of  articles  consistent  with  our  law,  and  at  the 
same  time  acceptable  to  the  other  American  nations. 

The  report  presented  by  the  Committee  on  Copyright,  Trade- 
Marks  and  Patents  is  full  of  exalted  sentiment  respecting  the 
rights  represented  by  these  terms,  and  their  just  claim  to  inter- 
national protection.  The  treaties  recommended  for  adoption 
concerning  these  three  subjects  were  the  same  that  had  been 
agreed  upon  in  an  International  Congress  at  Montevideo,  in 
which  all  the  South  American  States  but  three  took  part. 
They  are  presumably  acceptable  to  most  of  the  South  American 
nations  ;  but  that  upon  patents,  with  which  alone  we  are  now 
concerned,  is  very  far  from  agreement  with  the  laws  of  this 
country,  and  must  be  wholly  unacceptable  to  our  people. 


212  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

The  first  article  provides  that  any  person  having  a  patent  in 
one  of  the  contracting  States  shall  enjoy  in  all  the  others  all 
the  rights  of  inventor,  provided  he  shall,  within  a  year,  cause 
his  patent  to  be  registered  in  such  States.  When  it  is  con- 
sidered that,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  the  governments 
of  South  America  grant  patents  without  inquiry  into  novelty  ; 
and  further,  that  in  the  United  States  the  registration  of  a 
patent  granted  abroad  is  an  unknown  thing,  it  will  be  seen 
how  widely  at  variance  this  proposition  is  with  our  system. 

The  third  article  provides  that  questions  regarding  priority 
of  invention  shall  be  settled  according  to  the  date  of  applica- 
tion for  the  respective  patents  in  the  countries  where  they  were 
granted.  This  ignores  the  principle  at  the  foundation  of  the 
United  States  patent  system,  that  patents  shall  be  granted  to 
the  first  inventor,  and  the  elaborate  system  of  interference  pro- 
cedure, by  which  contests  for  priority  are  determined. 

The  fourth  article  prohibits  the  grant  of  patents  for  inven- 
tions or  discoveries  already  made  public,  either  in  any  of  the 
contracting  States  or  elsewhere.  This  is  as  widely  at  variance 
with  the  United  States  law  as  are  the  first  and  third  articles, 
since  under  our  law  a  printed  publication  at  home  or  abroad 
is  no  bar  to  a  patent  to  the  inventor  who  is  able  to  show  that 
he  made  the  invention  before  the  date  of  the  publication,  and 
has  not  abandoned  it. 

Those  who  look  for  a  complete  realization  of  the  idea  of  in- 
ternational protection  for  inventions  must  deeply  regret  the 
failure  of  the  American  nations  to  profit  by  the  magnificent 
opportunity  afforded  them  by  the  International  American  Con- 
gress at  Washington.  It  can  be  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  a 
week's  work  of  the  United  States  Patent  Office  is  more  than 
a  year's  work  of  the  patent  offices  of  all  the  other  American 
republics  combined,  and  that  a  system,  the  evolution  of  a 
century  of  experience,  and  the  most  potent  factor  in  the  un- 
rivaled industrial  progress  of  this  country,  was  entitled  at  least 
to  be  recognized  in  a  congress  of  that  character  convened  at  its 
capital.  But  with  this  regret  comes  the  hope  that  as  the 
American  nations  draw  closer  together  in  the  bonds  of  com- 
mercial intercourse  to  which  sentiment  invites,  and  which  wise 
statesmanship  fosters,  the  opportunities  may  not  be  far  distant 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE  CONGRESS.  213 

when  this  subject  shall  be  renewed  with  clearer  light,  and  with 
better  assurance  of  results  advantageous  to  all  the  nations  con- 
cerned. 

What  has  been  practically  accomplished  aside  from  these 
two  projects  may  not  be  overlooked.  Complete  international 
protection  exists  between  us  and  our  nearest  neighbor,  the 
Dominion  of  Canada,  by  virtue  of  no  treaty  or  concession,  but 
by  the  enactment  of  laws  in  that  country  as  liberal  towards  the 
alien  as  they  need  to  be,  and  in  some  respects  more  judicious 
than  ours.  Any  person,  citizen  or  alien,  may  secure  a  patent 
in  Canada,  provided  the  invention  has  not  been  in  public  use 
or  on  sale  in  the  country,  with  the  consent  of  its  author,  for 
more  than  one  year  prior  to  the  application.  A  prior  foreign 
patent  is  no  bar  if  the  application  is  filed  in  the  Dominion 
within  one  year  from  its  grant,  a  wise  restriction  which  we 
might  profitably  adopt,  since  our  law  as  it  stands  creates 
conditions  sometimes  prejudicial  to  vested  rights  of  our  own 
citizens.  The  Canadian  statute  differs  from  ours  in  many  par- 
ticulars, but  the  two  are  so  nearly  assimilated  in  respect  to  the 
rights  of  aliens  that  through  them  the  ideal  of  international 
protection  has  been  nearly  accomplished.  Our  liberal  and 
progressive  sister  republic,  Venezuela,  permits  the  true  inventor 
to  secure  a  patent  after  having  first  obtained  protection  in  his 
own  country,  and  permits  public  use  of  the  invention  in  the 
country  for  two  years  before  application  for  patent.  The  little 
realm  of  Hawaii  has  bodily  adopted  our  law  ;  and  so  we  have 
the  nucleus  for  an  International  Union  of  four  self-legislating 
governments,  created  by  no  formal  convention,  but  called  into 
existence  by  the  recognition  in  each  of  the  rights  of  the 
inventor,  and  the  refusal  to  limit  those  rights  on  account  of  acts 
done  in  order  to  secure  protection  under  the  laws  of  another 
country,  provided  he  avail  himself  of  his  privileges  within  a 
reasonable  time.  To  this  list  should  be  added  Sweden,  whose 
law,  imitating  our  own  in  many  respects,  gives  a  foreign  in- 
ventor a  limited  time  after  the  grant  of  his  home  patent  during 
which  he  may  file  his  application  in  the  kingdom. 

Nor  is  this  all.  A  year  ago,  when  the  Conference  at  Madrid 
refused  the  American  proposition,  the  delegates  from  this 
country  did  not  believe  that  the  last  word  had  been  said. 


214  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

Their  demand  was  so  fair  and  logical  that  it  could  not  fail  to 
impress  itself  on  thoughtful  minds.  And  now  comes  the  news 
that  the  most  powerful  empire  of  Europe,  which  up  to  this  time 
has  refused  to  accede  to  the  International  Convention  because 
not  in  harmony  with  her  laws,  is  contemplating  an  amendment 
to  them  that  will  amount  on  her  part  to  an  acceptance  of  that 
proposition.  A  commission  of  the  Reichstag  has  reported  in 
favor  of  an  amendment,  which  will  give  to  inventors  belonging 
to  nations  which  give  corresponding  privileges  to  German  sub- 
jects the  right  to  file  applications  for  patent  in  the  empire  within 
three  months  from  the  date  of  the  official  publication  of  the 
description  of  the  invention  in  the  country  of  origin,  without 
fear  of  having  their  German  patents  invalidated  by  reason  of 
such  publication.*  Since  we  already  grant  that  privilege  to 
German  subjects,  we  are  prepared  to  step  in  and  reap  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  proposed  legislation  the  moment  it  is  in  force. 

This  step  on  the  part  of  Germany  is  not  dictated  by  senti- 
ment, but  by  rigid  polic}'.  It  carries  further  the  principle  em- 
bodied years  ago  in  her  treaty  with  Austria-Hungary,  which 
was  for  the  mutual  advantage  of  the  people  of  both  empires. 
It  proffers  to  the  other  nations  of  Europe  a  privilege  hereto- 
fore denied  them,  provided  they  can  grant  the  reciprocal  privi- 
lege; and  will  almost  compel  these  nations  to  concede  to 
Germany  what  they  could  so  easily  refuse  to  us.  It  puts 
Germany  in  line  with  the  United  States  in  the  demand  we 
made  upon  Europe  in  the  Madrid  Conference,  but  in  a  better 
position,  since  Germany  has  something  to  give  in  return  which 
we  had  not.  The  adoption  of  this  amendment  to  the  German 
law  will  put  a  new  face  on  the  whole  subject  of  international 
protection  of  inventions;  and  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  expect 
that  when  delegates  from  the  United  States  shall  renew  our 
proposition  at  Brussels  in  1893,  it  will  meet  with  more  favor 
than  at  Madrid  ;  and  at  no  distant  day  the  truth  may  repeat 
itself,  that  the  stone  refused  by  the  builders  has  become  the 
head  of  the  corner. 

In  considering  the  prospects  of  international  protection  for 
patent  rights  in  harmony  with  American  ideas,  the  thought 
constantly  intrudes  whether  our  liberality  to  the  alien  has  not 

*This  law  went  into  effect  in  Germany,  October  i,  1891. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  215 

been  excessive.  Those  who  have  sought  in  conference  with 
the  representatives  of  other  nations  to  secure  some  concession 
advantageous  to  American  inventors  have  been  met  by  the 
demand,  * '  What  can  you  give  in  return  ? ' '  We  have  nothing 
to  give,  since  for  many  years  we  have  lavished  everything  on 
the  alien,  in  placing  him  on  precisely  the  same  footing  as  the 
citizen  in  the  Patent  Office  and  in  the  courts.  But  diplomatic 
agreements  are  seldom  anything  but  bargains.  They  are 
affairs  of  barter,  in  which  each  party  strives  to  secure  the  best 
for  himself.  In  this  market  those  fare  best  who  are  able  to 
give  real  value  in  exchange  for  what  they  desire.  Those  who 
have  nothing  to  give  are  apt  to  get  nothing  in  return.  Our 
liberal  legislation,  in  throwing  wide  open  our  doors  to  the  in- 
ventors of  every  nation,  had  its  origin  in  the  doctrine  embodied 
in  the  Constitution  that  the  useful  arts  are  encouraged  by  the 
protection  of  inventors,  and  in  the  belief  that  the  just  reward 
of  the  inventor  should  not  be  withheld  from  him,  though  he 
chance  to  be  an  alien.  This  theory  of  our  law  is  the  only  sound 
theory  of  international  protection.  But  many  a  noble  theory 
has  worked  badly  in  practice ;  and  so,  while  we  have  been 
promoting  industrial  progress  at  home  by  beneficent  laws, 
protecting  alike  the  citizen  and  the  alien,  we  have  been  un- 
able to  secure  for  our  own  citizens  in  foreign  lands  the  rights 
we  have  so  freely  conceded.  The  golden  rule,  admirable  and 
exquisite  in  its  simplicity,  fails  by  its  very  simplicity  of  appli- 
cation to  the  complex  affairs  of  diplomacy.  The  first  duty  of 
a  government  is  to  its  own  citizens,  and  while  we  act  with  all 
beneficence  toward  the  people  of  other  States,  our  own  people 
have  the  right  to  demand  that  this  beneficence  shall  not  be 
exercised  to  their  injury. 

International  protection  is  not  to  be  attained,  it  is  rather 
hindered,  by  unlimited  concession  on  the  part  of  a  single  gov- 
ernment. If  ever  reached  it  must  be  through  mutual  conces- 
sions from  all.  In  the  progress  of  the  world  toward  this  result 
the  United  States,  with  our  present  liberal  legislation,  can  be 
little  else  than  a  spectator.  We  may  proudly  point  to  the 
results  of  our  system,  and  invite  the  world  to  imitate  it,  but 
we  cannot  purchase  concession,  because  we  have  no  longer  any 
thing  to  give  in  return.  We  can  scarcely  take  steps  backward, 


2l6  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

though  it  is  plain  we  should  stand  better  if  we  could  recover 
some  of  our  squandered  privileges. 

But  in  our  attitude  of  watchful  spectator  we  can  take  careful 
note  of  the  timid  steps  by  which  the  nations  of  the  world  by 
slow  degrees  are  drawing  nearer  to  our  position.  Such  mutual 
concessions  as  other  governments  may  make  towards  the  pro- 
tection of  the  true  inventor,  by  amelioration  of  the  hard  laws 
which  have  robbed  him  of  his  rights,  are  all  steps  leading 
them  nearer  to  the  principles  of  the  American  system.  As 
such  steps  are  taken  it  must  be  the  part  of  American  diplomacy 
to  secure  to  American  inventors  the  benefits  they  may  confer. 

From  our  vantage  point,  far  in  advance  of  the  other  nations 
of  the  world,  we  may  watch  their  rivalries,  their  contentions, 
their  reciprocal  demands  and  proffers  ;  may  note  the  mutual 
concessions,  each  bringing  them  nearer  to  us,  by  which  sooner 
or  later  they  attain  to  harmonious  and  profitable  relations, 
until  universal  comity  shall  have  been  reached  ;  in  which,  and 
in  every  advantage  realized  in  the  course  of  its  achievement, 
we  shall  be  prepared  to  share. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   CONGRESS.  217 


INVENTION   IN   ITS   EFFECTS   UPON   HOUSEHOLD 
ECONOMY. 

BY  EDWARD  ATKINSON,  PH.D.,  IvL.D.,  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


THE  HOUSE  ITSELF. 

Upon  first  putting  pen  to  paper  in  order  to  describe  the  effect 
of  invention  upon  the  household  I  have  at  once  become  aware 
that  what  can  be  said  within  the  limit  of  time  permitted,  must 
be  a  mere  brief  which  might  well  be  extended  into  a  volume. 

When  that  volume  had  been  completed  it  would  be  more  of  a 
record  of  what  we  have  not  accomplished  than  of  what  has  yet 
been  done  to  render  the  art  of  living  simple  and  sincere,  to  the 
end  that  true  life  may  be  developed  in  the  dwelling  place  and 
that  the  bodies  of  which  life  makes  use  for  a  few  years  may  be 
fitly  housed.  There  are  now,  perhaps,  proportionately  more 
houses  in  which  people  dwell  in  greater  or  less  numbers — 
tenement  houses  for  instance — than  there  formerly  were.  How 
many  homes  are  there,  relatively  to  our  numbers,  as  compared 
to  former  days  ?  Let  us  not  boast  overmuch. 

In  dealing  with  this  subject  I  must  perforce  be  governed  by 
my  own  environment,  therefore  my  observations  must  be 
limited  by  what  I  have  seen  and  what  I  know  of  New  England. 

From  what  better  standpoint,  one  may  ask,  could  observations 
have  been  made  ?  Has  not  the  Yankee  always  been  striving  to 
invent  an  easier,  if  not  a  better  method  of  doing  everything 
under  the  sun  ? 

In  what  respect  has  progress  been  made  in  establishing 
homes  in  the  land  during  the  century  of  patents  ? 

Let  us  first  consider  the  mere  aspect  of  the  house. 

Until  a  very  recent  period  the  century  has  been  one  of  decad- 
ence, and  we  have  but  just  now  entered  upon  a  period  of  true 
renaissance.  This  decadence  may  be  almost  wholly  attributed 
to  the  progress  of  invention  ;  yet  invention  must  be  justified 
because  it  had  made  it  easier  to  build  a  house  than  it  was 
formerly.  It  has  also  made  it  easier  for  many  people  to  become 


21 8  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

householders.  But  has  not  invention  for  a  long  period  almost 
destroyed  the  beauty  of  the  house  itself? 

What  could  have  been  more  simple  and  sincere,  and  more 
consistent  with  all  the  surroundings  than  the  old  farm  house, 
which  took  the  place  of  the  log  cabin  and  may  have  been 
developed  from  it. 

The  house  was  well  placed,  facing  the  south,  under  the  shel- 
ter of  great  trees  ;  it  was  framed  in  solid  oak  ;  low  studded  ; 
the  timbers  showing  everywhere  in  their  true  places;  it  was 
ventilated  by  way  of  the  great  chimneys,  in  which  cheerful 
fires  gave  warmth  and  light  to  the  very  life  itself. 

Again,  witness  the  pleasant  aspect  of  the  village  dwelling, 
with  its  gable  end  upon  the  street,  the  doorway  opening  upon  a 
pleasant  yard,  the  gambrel  roof  well  framed  and  solid,  holding 
living  rooms  within,  and  not  mere  attics,  the  whole  house  of 
solid  frame  work,  closed  walls,  well  filled. 

Each  of  these  dwellings  was  a  true  development,  in  a  section 
where  timber  was  abundant,  where  solid  wooden  walls  are 
warmer  and  dryer  than  brick  or  stone  ;  and  where  true  archi- 
tects would  have  been  born,  by  whom  a  school  of  architecture 
might  have  been  established  which  should  have  been  wholly 
consistent  with  the  climate,  the  soil  and  the  building  material 
of  the  country,  except  for  progress  in  invention. 

Again,  bring  into  view  the  houses,  aye,  the  homes  of  the 
gentry  of  old  time.  The  old  Colonial  type  was  an  example  of 
true  architecture  in  the  highest  sense,  although  hardly  any  one 
then  claimed  the  title  of  architect.  There  were  builders  and 
craftsmen  in  those  days  who  knew  their  trade,  and  although 
they  assumed  not  to  be  artists,  yet  the  artists  of  the  present  day 
are  copying  their  designs,  and  in  this  period  of  renaissance  are 
giving  the  eye  a  restful  sense  of  almost  unconscious  relief  from 
the  crazy  roof  of  mustard  and  pepper-pot  design,  set  off  by  jig- 
saw decorations,  with  which  sham  houses  have  in  later  days 
been  covered  ;  roofs  made  of  open  boarding  full  of  leaky  valleys, 
sheathed  with  slates  which  may  keep  out  water,  but  surely  let 
in  all  the  heat  of  the  summer  sun. 

To  whom  can  this  period  of  decadence  in  household  art  and 
architecture  be  attributed,  if  not  to  the  pestilent  inventor  of  the 
buzz-saw  ? 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  219 

Who  made  it  so  easy  to  destroy  good,  solid  timber  and  to 
erect  hollow  shams  of  basket-like  structure,  of  bad  form, 
badly  roofed,  badly  worked  in  what  is  miscalled  decoration, 
in  which  fire  and  vermin  may  go  anywhere  at  their  own  free 
will  !  Who  but  the  innumerable  inventors  of  wood-working 
machinery  ?  To  whom  it  is  nevertheless  due  that  many  of  us 
can  get  a  house  to  live  in  of  any  kind  ;  for  they  have  made 
shelter  less  costly  and  have  given  a  sort  of  home  to  multitudes 
who  might  have  had  none  except  single  rooms  covered  in  with 
mud  or  logs.  Yet  for  these  inventions  have  we  not  paid  for  a 
century  a  fearful  price  ? 

A  word  of  warning  here  to  the  people  of  the  great  South- 
land. You  have  the  world's  supply  of  hard  wood  timber  upon 
your  mountains — the  country's  supply  of  hard  pine,  yellow 
pine  and  ash  upon  your  plains.  Why  copy,  as  you  are  doing 
in  many  places,  all  the  faults  of  northern  types  of  house  from 
which  we  are  just  emerging  by  way  of  what  I  have  called  a  re- 
naissance in  domestic  architecture. 

The  climate  and  conditions  of  the  Northern  States  require 
compact  houses,  chimneys  enclosed  within,  powerful  heating 
furnaces  as  distinguished  from  the  warming  apparatus  required 
in  the  more  moderate  winters  of  the  South.  Why  not  develop 
the  Southern  type  of  open  construction,  the  true  Southern 
dwelling  with  open  ways  between  the  living  rooms,  the  sleep- 
ing rooms,  and  the  dining  room,  the  kitchen  and  laundry  ?  Wh 
not  develop  the  Spanish  and  Moorish  type  of  quadrangle  en- 
closing the  patio  or  courtyard  ?  Why  not  adopt  the  thick, 
solid,  flat  roof,  which  is  almost  universal  in  the  hot  countries  of 
Europe  ?  Cover  it,  if  you  please,  with  a  pent  house  or  second- 
ary roof  of  picturesque  form,  to  keep  the  heat  from  the  true 
roof,  thus  making  it  a  pleasant,  shady  resort  in  Summer.  This 
secondary  roof  is  not  closed  in  at  the  ends,  and  merely  attached 
to  the  frame  of  the  house  proper.  This  whole  roof  space  on 
the  true  flat  roof  and  under  the  pent  house  may  be  clear,  for 
the  very  reason  that  the  Southern  chimney  should  not  be  en- 
closed within  the  house.  What  better  play  space  for  children 
in  hot  or  wet  weather  ? 

One  may  well  envy  the  upbuilders  of  the  new  town  and  cities 
of  the  great  Southland,  because  they  can,  if  they  will,  avoid  all 
the  blunders  which  we  have  made  in  our  hap-hazard  growth 


220  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

in  the  North  and  our  hasty  growth  in  the  West ;  our  Southern 
friends  may  now  find  men  who  will  make  use  of  all  the  varied 
contour  lines  of  hill  and  valley  in  laying  out  the  town.  They 
can  now  find  architects  capable  of  inventing  houses  wrhich  may 
be  built  of  timber  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  them  seem  to  have 
grown  where  they  are. 

They  can  find  men  who  can  also  combine  clay  tiles  and  steel 
in  solid  and  incombustible  structures  in  the  more  crowded 
towns  or  cities,  as  the  Moors  built  with  cohesive  tiles  in  Spain 
many  centuries  ago.  In  this  mode  of  construction,  structural 
steel  may  now  be  combined  so  as  to  bind  tiles  and  steel  together 
in  simple  forms.  Far  better  thus,  than  to  copy  the  brick,  stone 
and  iron  shams  of  our  great  Northern  and  Western  cities, 
which  serve  only  as  screens  for  the  products  of  the  buzz-saw 
which  are  put  together  within  in  cellular  form,  plastered  over 
with  lime  putty  worked  up  in  such  a  way  as  to  hide  but  not  to 
conceal  the  sham.  The  apparent  motive  being  to  secure  com- 
plete destruction  by  fire  from  the  smallest  cause. 

When  the  next  centenary  of  invention  is  celebrated,  the 
greater  part  of  the  inventions  in  house  building  which  have 
been  applied  in  the  past  hundred  years  will  have  ceased  to  en- 
cumber the  face  of  the  land.  Their  places  will  have  been  taken 
by  the  products  of  many  inventions,  which  are  just  beginning 
to  be  applied.  I  may  venture  to  name  a  few  of  them  : 

Cohesive  tiles  of  fire  clay. 

Terra  cotta  lumber. 

Structural  steel  in  combination  with  light  and  porous  con- 
cretes in  the  construction  of  floors. 

Plaster  board. 

Adamant  and  other  kinds  of  adhesive  plastering. 

Inside  walls  finished  with  lime  plastering  laid  on  metallic 
lathing  without  concealed  spaces  behind. 

Vulcanized  timber. 

Incombustible  paints  and  varnishes. 

Wood  pulp  mouldings  and  covering  for  roofs. 

Vitrified  brick — moulded  brick  and  various  kinds  of  marble 
work  for  inside  walls,  stairways  and  the  like. 

It  may  well  be  remembered  that  if  skill  and  intelligence  be 
applied  to  the  framing  and  disposal  of  heavy  timber  and  plank, 
a  better  house  can  be  built  from  these  materials  where  wood 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  221 

is  abundant  at  less  cost  than  the  common  basket-work  of  joists 
combined  with  thin  boards  on  walls  and  roof. 

Wood  is  the  best  of  all  non-conductors  of  heat  which  can  be 
used  for  building.  A  house  made  of  three-inch  plank  laid  on 
suitable  timbers  and  posts  set  wide  apart,  roof  as  well  as  wall, 
will  be  cooler  in  summer,  warmer  in  winter,  and  dryer  all  the 
time  than  any  house  that  can  be  built  of  stone,  brick,  or  iron, 
except  at  an  excessive  cost  for  double  or  vaulted  walls.  Such 
a  house  is  but  an  evolution  of  the  log  cabin  of  the  mountain 
section  of  the  Land  of  the  Sky  ;  its  further  evolution  offers  a 
wide  field  for  the  inventions  of  the  architect,  the  builder,  and 
the  artist. 

This  is  but  a  transition  period  in  house  building.  From  the 
age  of  mud  walls,  tents  of  skin,  and  cobbled  walls  of  stone, 
we  have  passed,  or  are  passing,  through  the  age  of  light  wood 
and  plaster  and  shams  of  stone,  perhaps  through  a  temporary 
stage  of  iron,  of  which  some  of  the  worst  and  most  hazardous 
forms  have  been  devised,  to  the  age  of  clay  ;  for  the  present  the 
clay  may  be  combined  with  structural  steel ;  perhaps  this 
period  may  end  in  the  use  of  clay  only,  either  baked  into 
bricks,  tiles,  or  porous  blocks,  or  clay  converted  into  the 
lightest  kind  of  metal — alluminum.  So  much  for  the  house 
itself. 

HOUSE    FITTINGS. 

To  the  matter  of  fixtures  not  much  time  or  space  can  be 
given.  The  application  of  modern  tools  and  machinery  has 
not  been  inconsistent  with  the  greatest  progress  in  effectiveness 
and  in  artistic  design.  Locks,  hinges,  door  handles,  window 
fastenings,  and  all  other  fittings,  both  low-priced  and  high- 
priced  as  well,  are,  in  their  best  forms,  most  conspicuous  exam- 
ples of  true  improvement,  in  which  the  inventors  and  manufac- 
turers of  this  country  have  taken  the  leading  and  most  conspic- 
uous part. 

WATER    SUPPLY    AND    DRAINAGE. 

During  the  century  the  change  from  the  ' '  Old  oaken  (bac- 
terial) bucket  that  hangs  by  the  (contaminated)  well  has  given 
place  to  various  methods  of  supplying  water  by  the  use  of  ves- 
sels or  pipes  that  will  not  decay,  from  sources  of  supply  that 
may  not  become  contaminated.  But  the  progress  in  drainage 


222  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

and  in  the  removal  of  sewage  has  not  keep  pace  with  this  more 
abundant  supply  of  water  ;  hence  there  is  hardly  a  more  import- 
ant field  for  future  invention  than  in  these  directions.  The 
drainage  of  the  cellar  and  of  the  soil  about  the  house  may  now 
be  readily  accomplished  through  the  invention  of  tile  drains 
and  of  cheap  and  durable  earthen  tiles  for  their  construction. 

In  the  matter  of  sewage  more  remains  to  be  accomplished 
than  has  yet  been  done.  The  two  sources  of  danger  are 
kitchen  grease  and  foecal  matter.  It  is  probable  that  the  re- 
moval of  foecal  matter  by  the  application  of  heat  will  take  the 
place  of  wet  methods  of  carrying  it  off  mixed  with  water  in  a 
manner  most  liable  to  contaminate  the  surroundings  of  the 
house.  Already  methods  of  reducing  foecal  matter  to  innocu- 
ous ashes  have  been  invented  by  Fuller,  Warren  &  Co.  and 
others,  which  are  being  applied  in  many  factories  and  school- 
houses  in  suitable  places  outside  the  main  buildings  and  with 
complete  success.  The  washing  of  greasy  pots,  pans,  and  dishes 
may  perhaps  be  made  much  safer  by  substituting  some  of  the 
antiseptic  products  of  petroleum  for  soap  in  the  process  of 
scouring  as  well  as  by  doing  away  with  a  great  part  of  the 
waste  of  grease  by  a  complete  revolution  in  the  whole  practice 
of  domestic  cooking. 

LIGHTING. 

In  nothing  has  there  been  greater  progress  than  in  the  trans- 
mission of  the  light  of  day  from  without,  or  in  the  production 
of  artificial  light  within  the  house. 

Limiting  the  consideration  of  this  subject  to  the  isolated 
dwellings  which  are  out  of  reach  of  illuminating  gas  or  elec- 
tric lights,  in  which  category  will  be  found  by  far  the  greater 
number  of  houses. 

Therefore,  taking  no  note  of  the  marvels  of  invention  in  re- 
spect to  gas  and  electricity,  a  few  words  may  be  given  to  matches, 
glass  and  lamps. 

Nothing  remains  to  be  done  in  the  direction  of  reducing  the 
cost  of  "  striking  a  light"  although  there  is  yet  a  wide  field 
for  making  the  process  safer  than  it  now  is. 

No  branch  of  industry  has  been  more  fully  promoted  by  in- 
vention than  the  making  of  glass,  and  there  is  no  occupation 
which  presents  a  more  complete  example  of  the  rule,  that  in  all 
arts  to  which  invention  and  improved  processes  are  applied  the 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  223 

cost  of  labor  is  diminished  while  the  rate  of  wages  rises  and  the 
price  of  the  product  is  reduced. 

Thus,  although  the  progress  of  the  glass  manufacture  has 
been  obstructed  by  high  duties  on  many  of  the  materials  which 
are  used,  as  well  as  upon  the  finished  products  of  like  kind  im- 
ported from  foreign  countries,  yet  such  are  our  many  advant- 
ages in  the  quality  of  the  sand  which  is  converted  into  glass, 
and  in  the  abundance  of  food  from  which  the  large  amount  of 
physical  force  or  potential  energy  that  is  called  for  in  this  pur- 
suit is  derived,  that  we  have  accomplished  much  in  the  im- 
provement in  quality  as  well  as  in  the  reduction  in  cost. 

In  that  monumental  volume,  No.  XX  of  the  census  of  1880 
upon  wages  and  prices,  compiled  by  Mr.  Joseph  D.  Weeks,  it 
appears  that  in  one  of  the  principal  glass  works  of  Pennsyl- 
vania the  following  changes  had  occurred,  the  wages  of  every 
class  of  operatives  had  advanced  between  1860  and  1880,  yet 
more  as  compared  with  1851.  The  average  earnings  of  all 
classes  in  1861  were  $1.23  per  day,  in  1880  they  were  $1.62. 
The  absolute  cost  of  labor  per  amount  of  product  had  been  di- 
minished although  the  per  centum  of  labor  in  the  product  had 
increased.  But,  through  economy  of  fuel  and  other  applica- 
tions of  invention,  it  had  become  possible  to  reduce  the  prices 
of  given  sets  of  glass  bowls,  goblets,  wine  glasses  and  tumblers 
from  $18  in  1860  to  $3.50  in  1880.  (See  pages  87,  88,  Vol.  XX, 
Census  1880.) 

The  changes  have  not  been  as  great  or  as  conspicuous  in  the 
matter  of  window  glass,  but  since  1866,  the  year  of  conspicuous 
paper  money  inflation,  the  cost  of  labor  per  box  of  fifty  feet  has 
been  diminished  from  $1.75  in  paper  to  $1.10  in  gold,  while  the 
price  to  consumers  of  the  same  quantity  has  been  reduced  from 
$5. 50  to  $2. 75. 

This  extraordinary  volume,  containing  the  results  of  able 
and  scientific  research,  is  full  of  most  instructive  examples  and 
proofs  of  the  rule  that  I  have  presented,  to  wit :  In  propor- 
tion to  the  application  of  science  and  invention  to  the  arts  of  pro- 
duction the  price  of  labor  is  augmented,  the  rates  of  wages  rise, 
the  cost  of  labor  is  diminished,  and  the  price  of  the  product  is 
reduced.  This  volume  also  gives  the  most  conclusive  proof  of 
the  inherent  power  of  an  intelligent  people  to  keep  on  in  their 
material  progress,  in  spite  of  civil  war,  of  the  debasement  of 


224  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

the  currency,  and  of  the  obstruction  of  bad  methods  of  taxation 
by  which  free  commerce  with  the  world  is  restricted,  and  by 
which  labor  is  diverted  from  its  most  profitable  course :  the 
home  market  for  the  surplus  products  of  the  field,  the  forest, 
the  factory,  and  the  mine  being  by  the  same  obstructive  policy 
prevented  from  expanding. 

In  the  matter  of  artificial  light  it  may  be  held  that  while  the 
introduction  of  illuminating  gas  and  electric  linghting  have 
increased  the  quantity  and  greatly  facilitated  the  distribution 
of  light,  neither  invention  has  to  any  extent  reduced  the  cost, 
but  on  the  contrary,  by  increasing  the  demand  for  light  every- 
where these  inventions  have  doubtless  increased  the  general 
expenditure. 

On  the  other  hand  the  discovery  of  petroleum,  the  applica- 
tion of  invention  to  its  preparation  and  distribution  and  the 
invention  of  innumerable  varieties  of  lamps,  have  reduced  the 
cost  of  household  lighting  both  absolutely  and  relatively,  to 
the  end  that  there  is  now  nothing  so  cheap  in  the  household  as 
an  abundance  of  light.  Yet  there  are  inventions  hardly  yet 
known  which  remove  almost  the  last  vestige  of  hazard  from 
the  kerosene  oil  lamp  burning  a  reasonably  high  standard  oil, 
doing  away  also  under  ordinary  care  with  smoke  and  smell, 
while  another  invention  promises  to  remove  all  the  odor  from 
kerosene  oil  and  to  raise  the  flashing  point  to  500  or  600°  F. 

FURNISHING. 

Strong  and  durable  as  the  furniture  of  the  house  was  a 
century  ago,  not  much  can  be  said  for  its  comfort.  Time  will 
not  suffice  to  deal  with  the  application  of  invention  to  the  art 
of  furnishing,  in  which  the  artist  and  the  skilled  mechanic  have 
done  so  much.  Suffice  it  that  the  Centennial  Exhibition  of 
1876  gave  a  greater  impetus  in  this  direction  than  in  almost 
any  other,  and  it  is  from  that  event  our  greatest  progress  may 
be  dated.* 

*NoTE. — I  may  venture  at  this  point  to  render  the  credit  to  Professor 
John  D.  Runkle,  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  which  is 
his  due.  He  had  the  sagacity  to  discover  in  the  Russian  method  of 
manual  instruction  the  germ  of  the  system  of  manual  training  which  is 
now  becoming  an  integral  part  of  common  school  instruction  all  over  our 
land.  He  applied  and  developed  it  in  the  manual  workshops  of  the 
Institute  of  Technology  in  Boston,  and  from  that  first  object  lesson  the 
conception  has  spread  everywhere. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  225 

HEATING  AND  COOKING. 

We  now  come  to  the  two  most  important  processes  of  house- 
hold economy,  in  which  it  may  almost  be  affirmed  that  the 
progress  of  invention  has  been  backward. 

In  the  matter  of  the  combustion  of  fuel  we  may  measure  our 
ignorance  by  the  height  of  our  chimneys  and  the  strength  of 
our  drafts. 

It  would  be  out  of  place  to  deal  with  the  crude  methods  of 
combustion  in  the  conversion  of  coal  into  power.  The  ten- 
dency toward  gaseous  fuel  is  very  marked  and  may  ultimately 
lead  to  much  greater  economy. 

In  dealing  with  the  household  art  of  applying  heat  to  the 
conversion  of  crude  food  material  into  nutritious  food,  the  posi- 
tion may  now  be  taken  that  any  method  of  combustion  that 
requires  the  draft  of  a  chimney  and  any  stove  that  requires  a 
chimney  flue  is  almost  unfit  to  be  used.  In  the  art  of  nutrition 
we  have  given  our  attention  almost  wholly  to  the  nutrition  of 
the  soil,  the  plant,  and  of  the  beast ;  but  until  within  a  very 
few  years  we  have  wholly  overlooked  or  neglected  the  nutrition 
of  man. 

Taking  advantage  of  this  neglect  by  the  true  scientist,  the  venal 
masters  of  scientific  perversion  have  exhausted  the  art  of  decep- 
tion in  compounding  quack  medicines  for  the  cure  of  ailments 
which  are  sometimes  imaginary,  but  which  when  they  exist  are 
mainly  due  to  ignorance  and  incapacity  in  the  art  of  cooking. 

The  brick  oven  and  the  open  fire  of  a  century  ago  required 
time  and  close  attention,  but  the  results  of  the  work  under  the 
direction  of  a  good  housewife  were  wholesome,  nutritious,  and 
appetizing. 

The  introduction  of  iron  stoves  and  ranges  and  of  anthracite 
coal  have  taken  the  life  out  of  the  house,  out  of  the  air,  and  out 
of  the  food  as  well. 

It  is  only  within  a  very  few  years  that  any  attention  has  been 
given  even  to  chemical  physiology  ;  as  yet  hardly  any  progress 
has  been  made  in  bringing  the  lessons  derived  from  science  ap- 
plied to  nutrition  into  the  form  of  an  art  which  may  be  easily 
mastered. 

I  have  been  led  to  the  study  of  this  matter  through  the  de- 
velopment of  the  fact  by  the  compilation  of  statistics,  that  even 


226  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE  CONGRESS. 

in  this  land  of  abundance  one-half  or  more  of  the  income  of 
about  90  per  cent,  of  the  population  is  expended  in  the  mere 
purchase  of  food  material. 

Add  to  this  the  time,  the  attention,  the  discomfort,  and  the 
waste  of  energy  which  are  spent  in  the  conversion  of  good  ma- 
terial into  food  of  which  the  average  quality  is  bad  and  we 
begin  to  have  some  comprehension  of  a  field  which  is  almost 
unoccupied,  and  in  which  science  and  invention  have  yet  to 
work  most  beneficent  results. 

Had  I  undertaken  to  deal  with  this  branch  of  invention  in 
the  household  arts  for  mere  purposes  of  personal  profit,  it  would 
be  unsuitable  to  treat  this  matter  at  this  time.  But  since  my 
purpose  and  my  present  practice  is  to  devote  the  income  that  I 
may  derive  from  my  own  crude  inventions  to  the  further  devel- 
opment of  the  science  of  nutrition,  I  may  devote  the  remainder 
of  this  treatise  to  this  branch  of  the  subject. 

Without  the  aid  of  Mrs.  Ellen  H.  Richards,  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Institute  of  Technology,  and  of  Prof.  Wm.  O.  Atwater, 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C.,.  I  should 
have  been  unable  to  deal  with  this  branch  of  the  subject  in  the 
way  in  which  I  shall  present  it.  I  may  also  quote  from  the 
standard  authorities,  Sir  Henry  Thompson,  Sir  L,yon  Play  fair, 
Prof.  Voit,  Dr.  Pavey,  and  others,  without  again  referring  to 
them  by  name. 

The  sole  condition  on  which  the  application  of  heat  to  the 
conversion  of  food  material  into  cooked  food  without  constant 
watching  is  that  a  measured  heat  shall  be  under  complete  con- 
trol. 

The  two  rules  for  cooking  are  as  follows  : 

I.  Take  some  heat  of  the  top  of  a  lamp  and  put  it  into  a  box. 

II.  Take  one  part  of  gumption  and  one  part  of  food,  mix  to- 
gether, put  them  into  the  box  with  the  heat ;  the  heat  will  do 
the  work. 

These  rules  cannot  be  applied  in  the  use  of  any  iron  stove  or 
oven  heated  by  the  combustion  of  coal  under  a  strong  draft 
Cooking  on  such  stoves  calls  for  constant  attention,  and  for  the 
discomfort  due  to  close  proximity  to  the  stove. 

If  meats  are  subjected  to  a  high  heat  in  the  effort  to  cook 
them  quickly  in  an  oven,  or  by  any  process  except  broiling, 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  227 

which  requires  great  skill,  the  fats  are  dissociated  or  "  cracked," 
as  it  is  termed,  the  volatile  portion  is  diffused,  bearing  away 
the  finest  flavor,  and  the  remainder  of  the  fat  is  left  in  an  undi- 
gestible  condition,  in  which  it  fails  to  be  assimilated. 

In  fact  the  process  of  cooking  is  a  fine  process  of  chemical 
conversion  and  when  we  put  appliances  which  are  not  suitable 
to  the  process  into  the  hands  of  incapable  persons  who  are  en- 
tirely ignorant  of  the  theory,  we  have  no  right  to  expect  to  get 
any  better  results  than  those  with- which  we  are  all  too  familiar. 

It  would  be  unsuitable  both  to  the  occasion  and  for  myself 
to  describe  the  processes  which  I  propose  to  substitute  for  those 
which  are  commonly  practiced.  I  will  only  give  the  objective 
point  of  my  researches  and  a  statement  of  what  has  already 
been  accomplished  ;  much  more  remains  to  be  done. 

The  proportions  of  the  nutrients  which  are  necessary  to  the 
effectual  support  of  a  man  at  moderate  work,  according  to  the 
American  standard,  are  as  follows  : 

Protein  or  nitrogenous  material 125  grains. 

Fats 125        " 

Carbo-hydrates  or  starchy  material 450       " 

700 

Disregarding  fractions  a  little  over  one  pound  (adv.)  of 
starchy  food  and  a  little  over  a  quarter  of  a  pound  each  of  fat 
and  of  protein. 

Professor  Atwater  has  converted  these  nutrients  into  calories 
or  units  of  heat.  These  chemical  elements  of  nutrition,  with 
the  mineral  elements  which  will  be  found  on  almost  all  varieties 
of  food,  must  supply  the  working  man  who  is  engaged  in  mod- 
erate work  with  3,520  units  of  heat  per  day:  a  less  supply 
suffices  for  women.  The  variations  which  may  be  made  for 
hard  work  or  for  sedentary  work,  or  for  sex,  are  few  in  number 
and  may  be  readily  defined  by  percents  of  variation. 

If  we  add  for  unavoidable  waste  about  10  per  cent.,  the  unit 
of  nutrition  for  a  man  at  moderate  work  is  4,000  calories  per 
da}'.  This  potential  energy  will  be  yielded  from  the  nutrients 
which  are  contained  therein  by  certain  measurable  quantities 
of  vegetable  and  animal  food  consumed  in  about  the  usual  pro- 
portions. The  proportions  of  animal  and  vegetable  food  may 
vary  according  to  the  special  appetite  and  digestive  powers  of 


228  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

each  person,  but  dealing  in  a  broad  and  general  way,  such  is 
the  standard  or  unit  of  daily  nutrition. 

In  the  purchase  of  food  material  at  the  retail  prices  in  cities 
and  towns,  grain,  flour  and  vegetables  may  be  considered  as 
constants  in  price  each  season  or  year  according  to  the  crop,  the 
prices  of  animal  food  as  variable  according  to  kind  and  quality. 

Lists  of  prices  having  been  prepared,  the  following  course  is 
now  within  the  power  of  any  intelligent  person  to  adopt. 

If  a  dietary  be  made  up  for  thirty  days,  for  the  consumption 
of  the  tougher  and  cheaper  parts  of  meat  and  of  the  cheaper 
kinds  of  fish,  with  the  right  proportion  of  bread,  grain  vegeta- 
bles and  sugar  the  cost  of  food  per  thousand  calories  in  Boston 
at  the  present  time  will  not  exceed  three  and  a-half  cents.  A 
man  requiring  4,000  calories  may  therefore  purchase  a  day's 
full  supply  for  14  cents,  or  at  the  rate  of  98  cents  per  week. 
A  woman  occupied  in  sewing,  teaching,  or  in  attendance  in  a 
shop  may  purchase  3,400  calories,  which  is  in  excess  of  ordinary 
need,  at  12  cents  per  day  or  at  84  cents  per  week. 

These  tough  portions  of  meat  may  be  made  as  tender  as  the 
choicest  cuts  by  the  application  of  moderate  heat  for  a  sufficient 
length  of  time,  and  are  in  every  respect  as  nutritious. 

If  the  consumer  wishes  to  purchase  the  medium  cuts  of  meat 
and  to  enjoy  a  greater  variety,  the  expenditure  may  be  in- 
creased to  5  cents  per  thousand  calories  or  20  cents  a  day — 
$1.40  per  week  for  men  :  17^  cents  a  day,  $1.23  per  week  for 
women,  the  addition  being  spent  on  meat  and  fish. 

If  the  consumer  wishes  to  purchase  the  choicer  cuts  of  meat, 
the  best  quality  of  poultry  and  fish,  together  with  a  more 
ample  supply  of  milk,  butter  and  sugar,  the  price  per  thousand 
calories  may  be  advanced  to  seven  cents. 

At  this  standard  the  cost  per  day  for  men  will  be  28  cents  or 
$1.96  per  week  ;  for  women,  24^  cents  per  day  or  $1.72  per 
week.  Any  expenditure  beyond  this  last  standard  of  seven 
cents  per  thousand  calories  will  be  either  an  absolute  waste  or 
for  absolute  luxury. 

This  daily  unit  of  nutrition  for  one  person  can  now  be 
cooked  in  the  best  manner  in  the  crockery  vessels  in  which  it 
may  be  served,  in  a  cooking  pail  of  my  invention,  with  the 
heat  derived  from  any  common  kerosene  hand  lamp  or  from 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  229 

any  common  gas  burner  over  which  the  pail  may  be  suspended, 
and  while  the  housewife  sleepeth  the  lamp  will  do  its  work. 

Multiples  of  this  ration  may  be  cooked  in  a  portable  oven  of 
my  invention,  either  by  baking,  roasting,  simmering,  stewing 
and  braising,  or  in  imitation  of  broiling  and  frying,  at  the  rate 
of  forty  to  fifty  pounds  per  day  in  a  series  of  four  charges  to  the 
oven,  with  the  heat  that  may  be  taken  from  the  top  of  the 
chimney  of  a  common  kerosene  oil  lamp  with  a  circular  wick 
of  one  and  a-half  inches  in  diameter,  consuming  one  quart  of 
oil  in  the  eight  hours  required  for  work. 

The  work  may  be  done  anywhere.  Therefore  the  kitchen 
and  its  chimney,  the  iron  stove  or  range,  and  the  miscellaneous 
collection  of  iron  pots  and  pans  may,  so  far  as  the  process  of 
cooking  is  concerned,  be  wholly  displaced.  The  room  can  then 
be  put  to  a  better  use  if  the  heating  of  the  room  itself  and  the 
water  for  circulation  about  the  house  be  relegated  to  the  heat- 
ing furnace  in  the  cellar  in  winter  and  to  a  small  special  water 
heater  in  summer. 

I  venture  to  conclude  this  treatise  with  the  suggestion  that 
the  agricultural  experiment  stations  of  the  United  States  which 
are  now  being  so  well  developed  under  the  general  supervision 
of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  and  under  the  special  super- 
vision of  Prof.  W.  O.  Atwater,  should  not  be  limited  wholly 
to  the  nutrition  of  the  soil,  the  plant,  and  of  the  beast. 

They  will  not  be  complete  until  a  Cooking  Laboratory  is 
attached  to  each,  in  which  the  science  of  the  nutrition  of  man 
may  be  developed,  to  the  end  that  it  may  become  a  part  of  the 
common  knowledge  of  the  whole  people,  and  that  the  simple 
rules,  of  which  I  have  given  some  examples,  may  be  incorpo- 
rated in  the  arithmetics  used  in  the  common  schools  in  place 
of  some  of  the  logical  puzzles  which  perplex  our  children 
without  educating  them. 

At  present  I  can  claim  for  these  computations  only  theoretic 
accuracy.  Arrangements  have  been  made  by  myself  for  the 
beginning  of  laboratory  practice  from  which  a  more  definite 
direction  may  be  given  in  this  almost  unoccupied  field  of  ap- 
plied science. 

A  few  words  more  upon  the  general  topic.  The  progress  of 
society  and  the  progress  in  household  economy,  like  progress 


230  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

in  the  mechanism  of  the  factory,  appear  to  follow  one  and  the 
same  rule;  each  beginning  in  the  arduous  simplicity  of  earlier 
days,  each  evolving  new  ways  and  means  of  combination  by 
way  of  new  inventions  and  discoveries,  leading  up  to  the  ut- 
most complexity,  accompanied,  however,  by  greater  abundance. 
Yet  this  complexity  is  but  a  prophecy  of  more  effective  sim- 
plicity in  the  fullness  of  time.  Both  in  society  and  in  the 
household  we  seem  now  to  be  in  the  transition  period  of  ex- 
treme complexity. 

We  are  compelled  to  think  more  of  living  and  less  of  life. 
We  possess  more  comfort,  but  do  not  enjoy  it,  because  it  in- 
volves more  care.  We  have  many  more  servants  and  much 
less  help.  We  can  spare  more  time,  but  we  get  less  leisure. 
We  pay  for  more  amusement  and  are  less  amused.  We  may 
read  more  books  but  we  do  less  thinking.  We  strive  to  be 
independent,  while  we  become  more  and  more  dependent.  We 
condemn  legislators,  yet  we  constantly  appeal  for  more  legis- 
lation. We  admit  that  the  progress  of  humanity  can  only 
come  in  the  development  of  the.  individual  character.  Then 
we  take  up  all  sorts  of  fanciful  fads,  which  would  sink  the 
individual  in  the  collective  mass.  We  boast  of  our  power  to 
manage  our  own  affairs,  yet  we  appeal  to  Congress  to  force  us 
to  take  up  unprofitable  occupations  at  the  cost  of  our  neigh- 
bors. The  laborer  is  proud  of  his  liberty,  yet  calls  upon  the 
Legislature  to  restrict  the  use  or  his  time.  We  ask  not  to  be 
led  into  temptation,  then  we  pass  laws  which  convert  that 
which  is  not  criminal  in  itself  into  a  legal  crime.  We  try  to 
earn  all  the  money  of  the  best  kind  that  we  can  get,  and  we 
call  upon  the  Government  to  coin  a  poor  kind,  and  to  pass  a 
law  to  enable  us  to  force  our  creditors  to  take  it.  On  Sundays 
we  praise  the  lyord  who  has  made  of  one  blood  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  and  on  the  week  days  we  ask  Congress  to  forbid 
us  to  exchange  services  with  our  brothers  in  blood  of  other 
races.  We  preach  the  gospel  of  peace,  good  will  and  plenty 
among  the  nations,  while  each  nation  builds  iron,  steel  and 
nickel-clad  vessels  of  war  for  the  next  inventor  to  render  use- 
less and  innocuous. 

To  whom  do  we  owe  all  this  complexity  ?  Again  to  the  pes- 
tilent inventor.  Who  but  the  inventor  of  the  turbine  wheel 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  231 

brought  masses  of  people  into  the  narrow  valley  of  the  river 
below  the  fall  ?  Who  but  the  inventor  of  the  steam  engine  and 
of  illuminating  gas  made  it  so  necessary  for  the  workman  to 
live  near  his  work  that  we  have  generated  the  slums  out  of 
that  crowded  condition  promoted  by  these  very  inventions? 
Who  but  the  inventor  of  the  vertical  railway,  which  we  call  an 
elevator,  placed  household  over  household  in  disregard  of  the 
separate  home  ?  All  this  is  but  transition. 

Next  appears  the  inventor  who  sends  speech  and  light  and 
power  over  wide  areas ;  the  inventor  who,  like  the  one  who 
devised  the  multiplex  telegraph,  sends  the  rapid  car  at  higher 
speed  above  the  slow-moving  carriages  on  the  street  below. 
But  now  comes  his  peer,  who,  adopting  the  Irishman's  receipt 
for  making  a  cannon,  takes  a  round  hole  and  puts  an  under- 
ground tunnel  of  iron  and  concrete  outside  of  it,  and  who,  bor- 
ing through  sand  and  clay  and  rock,  will  carry  the  multitude 
from  the  crowded  streets  of  the  city  to  the  wide  area  of  the 
suburbs. 

Again  conies  the  inventor  who,  converting  hydrogen,  oxygen, 
and  carbon  into  fuel  gas,  will  presently  furnish  heat  at  little 
cost  wherever  small  pipes  can  be  laid,  in  which  this  kind  of  gas 
can  be  forced  under  high  pressure  over  long  distances.  In 
every  direction  we  make  progress  by  invention  which  destroys 
great  volumes  of  capital  previously  accumulated  at  great  cost, 
thus  diminishing  the  relative  share  in  every  service  which  the 
capitalist  may  take  over  to  himself,  while  increasing  both  abso- 
lutely and  relatively  that  which  may  rightly  fall  to  the  indus- 
trious and  intelligent  workman. 

There  is  nothing  constant  but  change,  and  throughout  all 
these  changes  we  witness  progress  toward  that  objective  point 
when  the  family  will  again  become  the  unit  of  society  ;  when 
a  good  subsistence  and  a  suitable  shelter  will  be  so  readily  at- 
tained by  men  of  common  intelligence,  rectitude,  and  industry 
that  it  will  no  longer  pay  to  become  rich,  and  leisure  will  be 
found  in  the  diligent  and  intelligent  use  of  time. 

I  venture  again  to  call  attention  to  the  sequence  of  events. 
The  collective  or  factory  system  of  industry  was  practically 
unknown  until  the  development  of  the  modern  water-wheel, 
the  application  of  steam  to  power  and  illuminating  gas  to 


232  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

lightning.  These  inventions  brought  about  a  change  from 
separate  household  industry  to  this  collective  method,  accom- 
panied by  an  extreme  subdivision  of  labor.  It  was  a  step  in 
moral  as  well  as  in  material  progress,  although  in  its  earlier 
stages  it  was  subject  to  many  abuses.  It  may  have  reached  its 
highest  point  in  its  application  to  the  pursuits  of  this  country, 
yet,  if  we  analyze  the  occupations  of  the  people  as  given  in 
the  census  of  1880,  we  shall  find  that  if  we  put  into  the  cate- 
gory of  the  operatives  in  our  great  factories  all  who  are  occu- 
pied in  the  textile  arts,  the  iron  and  steel  works  and  machine 
shops,  the  clothing,  boot  and  shoe  factories,  and  all  other  mis- 
cellaneous occupations,  which  can  be  conducted  in  the  best 
way  by  great  subdivision  of  labor,  and  by  bringing  great 
masses  of  people  into  single  buildings,  we  barely  reach  ten  per 
cent  of  all  who  are  occupied  for  gain.  There  are,  of  course, 
great  masses  occupied  under  analogous  conditions,  but  in  col- 
lective pursuits  like  the  railway  service,  the  building  trades  and 
others  individual  aptitude  and  intelligence  count  for  as  much 
or  more  as  the  mere  manual  or  mechanical  aptitude  which  is 
so  necessary  in  a  factory.  Great  factories  are  conspicuous  by 
their  very  mass.  They  appeal  to  the  imagination  and  may 
sometimes  mislead. 

Again,  the  construction  of  the  railways  into  undeveloped 
territory  has  scattered  the  population  occupied  in  agriculture 
under  conditions,  which,  in  some  respects,  are  as  adverse  to  the 
development  of  men  as  the  massing  of  crowds  in  cities.  These 
are  the  penalties  which  we  pay  for  invention,  and  they  have 
occupied  a  century  in  their  development.  May  it  not  be  prob- 
able that  in  the  progress  of  invention  other  new  forces,  to  which 
I  have  referred — power,  light,  speech  and  heat,  carried  over 
wide  areas  and  placed  at  the  control  of  the  household  on  the 
tap  of  a  button,  may  bring  about  a  return  to  household  indus- 
try of  the  highest  type  under  the  least  arduous  conditions  of 
life  perhaps  wholly  free  from  the  monotony  of  the  great  fac- 
tory ;  distributing  the  urban  population  and  doing  away  with 
the  causes  of  the  slums,  so  far  as  those  causes  may  be  found  in 
external  influences  rather  than  in  the  individual  character  or 
want  of  character  in  those  who  rest  contented  in  the  slums. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  233 

Again,  the  intensive  system  of  fanning,  the  adoption  of  the 
silo,  the  application  of  improved  methods  in  dealing  with  all 
the  products  of  the  field,  are  leading  to  the  treatment  of  land 
as  a  laboratory  rather  than  as  a  mine  ;  thus  bringing  together 
into  neighborhoods  that  part  of  the  population  which  has  been 
too  widely  scattered,  also  closer  to  the  factory  population  which 
has  been  too  much  concentrated. 

If  such  may  be  the  prophecy  to  him  whose  vision  leads  him 
to  visionary  and  optimistic  views,  then  we  may  call  upon  the 
inventor  of  the  future  and  of  the  present  to  continue  on  his  way 
undoing  the  work  of  his  predecessors  by  doing  it  better. 

We  may  bid  God-speed  especially  to  the  inventors  of  warlike 
implements  of  destruction,  perhaps  the  only  method  of  over- 
coming the  ignorance  and  stupidity  of  mankind.  That  igno- 
rance and  stupidity  finds  its  most  extreme  expression  in  the 
construction  of  great  vessels  of  war,  especially  by  European 
countries  such  as  Italy  and  Germany,  where  the  weight  of  tax- 
ation is  already  depriving  great  masses  of  the  population  even 
of  the  measure  of  food  which  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the 
maintenance  of  life.  The  long  list  of  the  iron  and  steel-clad 
vessels  of  war  belonging  to  these  nations  may  be  taken  as  the 
tokens  of  the  barbarism  of  that  system  which  forbids  mutual 
service  among  the  States  which  comprise  what  are  called  the 
civilized  sections  of  the  globe. 

In  that  provision  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
which  assures  the  utmost  liberty  in  mutual  service  among  the 
States  of  this  Union  we  have  found  the  closest  bond.  Since 
slavery  destroyed  itself  by  aggressive  warfare  we  have  ceased 
to  require  an  army  except  for  police  services,  and  when  the  in- 
ventor of  the  most  effective  gun  shall  render  approach  to  any 
of  our  harbors  by  armed  vessels  as  impossible  as  the  fear  of  such 
approach  would  be  ridiculous,  if  also  we  are  then  as  free  to  ex- 
change services  and  products  with  other  nations  as  we  are 
among  our  own  States,  the  true  century  of  good  will,  peace, 
and  plenty  will  have  been  fairly  entered  upon. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  235 


ADDRESS  OF  S.  P.  LANGLEY,  U,.D., 
SECRETARY  OF  THE  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION, 

VICE-PRESIDENT  OF  THE  CONGRESS,  PRESIDING  AT  THE  SESSION  ON 
THE  AFTERNOON  OF  APRII,  9th,  1891. 


If  this  Centennial  is  a  memorable  occasion  in  the  history  of 
discovery  it  is  so  also  in  that  of  science,  which  time  out  of 
mind  has  been  so  intimately  related  to  it.  It  is  possibly  to  this 
that  I  owe  the  honor  of  being  here  to  assure  you  of  the  especial 
interest  which  is  felt  in  this  gathering  by  the  scientific  men  of 
Washington,  who  form  perhaps  a  greater  body  of  professional 
discoverers  than  there  is  in  any  other  city  of  the  country. 

Nearly  a  half  a  century  ago  Congress  transferred  from  the 
shelves  of  the  Patent  Office  to  the  Smithsonian,  the  very  few 
objects  of  curiosity  the  government  then  possessed,  and  these 
have  since  grown  into  great  groups  of  illustrations  of  the 
history  of  man's  thought,  as  displayed  in  discovery  and  inven- 
tion— groups  which  are  among  the  most  interesting  of  the 
collections  of  the  National  Museum. 

I  hope  all  here  will  find  opportunity  to  see  them,  but  I 
allude  to  these  in  connection  with  this  centennial  occasion, 
only  to  notice  a  suggestion  they  give  of  general  application  to 
the  history  of  discovery,  for  so  long  as  man  is  a  tool-using- 
animal,  nearly  every  inventor  is  still  engaged  in  making  a  tool 
or  machine  of  some  sort,  and  the  history  of  the  very  first  tool 
that  was  made,  may  have  a  bearing  on  the  present  of  inven- 
tion, and  even  throw  some  light  on  its  future. 

We  have  all  seen  an  Indian  axe-head  which  has  been  made  of 
stone,  by  rubbing  one  piece  on  another,  and  looked  on  it  per- 
haps as  the  most  primitive  of  tools.  This,  however,  was  not 
the  first  tool,  but  an  improvement  on  something  still  ruder,  for 
you  may  see  in  these  Smithsonian  collections,  roughly-broken 
stones  which  were  made  by  primitive  man  before  the  art  of 
rubbing  one  on  another  was  invented,  and  which  antedate  this 
comparatively  modern  form  by  perhaps  hundreds  of  thousands 


7, 


236  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

of  years.  The  thing  to  note  in  this  connection  is,  that  it  took 
man  probably  over  a  hundred  thousand  years  to  make  this,  his 
first  invention — if  we  can  call  it  one — and  that  possibly  millions 
of  years,  but  probably  a  period  longer  at  any  rate  than  the  whole 
progress  of  world- wide  discovery  since,  was  spent  by  the  inven- 
tive minds  of  all  united  mankind  in  evolving  the  one  idea,  that 
by  rubbing  one  stone  on  another  you  can  get  a  cutting  edge. 
It  seems  incredible  that  invention  could  ever  have  worked  as 
slowly  as  that ;  yet  it  did  so,  and  only  after  myriads  of  years 
brought  about  the  polished  stone  age. 

Now,  we  observe,  not  so  much  how  inventions  grow,  as  how 
the  rate  of  discovery  grows  ;  when  we  find  that  the  next  great 
improvement  was  evolved  in  a  time  short,  compared  with  the 
first ;  for  instead  of  myriads  of  years,  inventive  thought  had  so 
gained  in  quickness  that  it  took  ' '  only  ' '  a  few  thousand  years 
to  make  the  next  invention,  which  was  that  of  a  tool  of  bronze. 

But  the  third  stage,  the  development  of  the  tool  of  iron, 
shows  a  yet  further  quickening  of  the  rate  of  thought,  for  this 
stage  began  only  a  few  centuries  ago,  and  yet  has  been  thought 
out,  with  its  immensely  greater  developments,  in  a  fraction  of 
the  former  time ;  in  centuries,  that  is,  instead  of  thousands  of 
years,  and  not,  we  must  observe,  merely  because  there  are 
more  inventors,  but  because  the  inventive  mind  itself  is  be- 
coming of  finer  and  prompter  quality. 

If  this  short  history — this  philosophy  teaching  by  ex- 
amples— means  anything,  we  can  now,  I  think,  predict  that 
whether  the  fourth  stage  on  which  we  are  entering,  is  to  be 
the  age  of  aluminum,  or  whatever  else  ;  that  the  requisite  in- 
ventions will  be  made,  the  problems  worked  out,  and  perhaps 
the  material  face  of  the  civilized  world  altered,  largely  in  our 
own  lifetimes. 

It  has  been  said  that  even  less  than  a  hundred  years  ago,  if 
the  most  powerful  and  enlightened  potentate  on  earth  wished 
to  travel  faster  on  the  land  or  sea,  or  to  send  a  message  quicker 
than  was  done  in  the  days  of  the  patriarchs,  he  could  not  do 
it ;  for  if  Abraham  had  mounted  his  messenger  on  his  best 
steed,  the  united  wealth,  and  power,  and  knowledge  of  the 
world,  toward  the  end  of  the  last  century,  could  have  only 
furnished  a  possibly  swifter  horse  than  his,  and  could  have  done 
no  more. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  237 

Of  the  important  conquests  over  time  and  space,  which  have 
been  made  in  the  past  six  thousand  years,  most  have  come,  then, 
in  the  life-time  of  living  men.  I  have  myself  long  personally 
known  the  man  who  competed  with  Stevenson  for  the  prize  for 
the  first  locomotive,  and  am  privileged  to  count  among  my 
friends,  in  the  inventor  of  the  telephone,  one  still  a  young  man. 
With  this  incessant  achievement,  and  this  increasing  rate  of 
progress  on  the  inventor's  part,  what  can  we  deny  to  the  pos- 
sibilities of  even  the  coming  decade  ? 

It  would  be  rash  to  predict  what  these  all  may  be,  but  I  de- 
sire to  express  my  personal  conviction  that  one  at  least,  which 
has  been  the  mere  dream  of  enthusiasts  in  the  past,  is  soon  to 
become  a  reality,  and  to  venture  the  statement  that  the  air  may 
probably  be  made  to  support  engine-driven  flying  machines, 
heavier  than  the  air  itself,  before  the  expiration  of  the  present 
century. 

I  will  detain  you  no  longer  from  listening  to  the  distinguished 
speakers  who  are  to  address  you,  but  only  say  that  in  view  of 
this  fabulously  increasing  rate  and  value  of  reproduction,  you, 
as  inventors,  are  certainly  taxable  with  no  overestimate  of  your 
true  importance,  if  you  believe  yourselves  becoming  each  day, 
more  and  more  the  real  creators  of  the  changes  which  make 
this  nation  materially  great,  and  entitle  you  of  right  to  the 
place  of  honored  guests,  and  to  the  welcome  all  extend  to  you 
in  its  Capital. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  239 


THE  EFFECT  OF  TECHNOLOGICAL  SCHOOLS  UPON 
*  THE  PROGRESS  OF  INVENTION. 

BY  W.  P.  TROWBRIDGE,  PH.D.,  LL.D.,  OF  NEW  YORK,  PROFESSOR 
OF  ENGINEERING  SCHOOL  OF  MINES,  COLUMBIA  COLLEGE. 


The  place  now  occupied  by  technical  schools  in  the  general 
system  of  higher  education  may  be  regarded  as  a  direct  result 
of  the  advance  of  knowledge,  in  the  natural  sciences,  which 
has  so  signally  marked  the  successive  years  of  the  century 
which  now  draws  to  a  close. 

Living  in  the  midst  of  the  grand  developments  in  material 
progress  at  the  present  day,  we  can  fully  appreciate  the  extent 
to  which  these  developments  are  due  to  the  applications  of 
scientific  discoveries  only  by  contrasting  the  state  of  knowl- 
edge at  the  beginning  of  the  century  with  that  of  our  own 
times  :  and  by  tracing  the  changes  which  have  brought  about 
the  rise  and  growth  of  the  new  fields  of  education  represented 
by  technical  schools,  and  the  reciprocal  effects  of  these  institu- 
tions in  promoting  scientific  research  and  the  applications  of 
science  to  useful  purposes. 

One  hundred  years  ago  natural  science  was  in  a  condition  of 
the  greatest  speculative  crudity.  During  the  century  preced- 
ing— Newton,  Leibnitz,  Bernoulli,  DesCartes,  d'Alembert  and 
others  had  formulated  most  of  the  fundamental  propositions  in 
the  mathematical  and  mechanical  sciences,  very  much  as  they 
are  understood  and  accepted  at  the  present  time,  but  the  appli- 
cation of  dynamical  laws  and  general  theorems  to  practical 
purposes,  in  the  arts  and  manufactures,  had  hardly  yet  been 
systematically  attempted.  Teachers  of  chemistry  in  the  Uni- 
versities accepted  the  old  Phlogistic  theory  as  late  as  1780  and 
1790,  when  Priestly,  Watt,  Boulton,  Smeaton,  and  others  were 
accustomed  to  meet  together  in  Birmingham  as  members  of  the 
'  *  Lunar  Society  ' '  to  discuss  matters  relating  to  the  progress  of 
the  natural  sciences  and  their  useful  applications. 


240  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

The  Lunar  Society  may  be  said  to  have  represented  more 
truly,  during  its  twenty-five  years  of  existence,  the  state  of 
those  natural  sciences  which  have  a  special  bearing  on  material 
and  useful  applications,  and  the  extent  to  which  such  applica- 
tions had  been  carried,  than  any  association  then  in  existence. 
Among  its  members  were  to  be  found  distinguished  inventors*, 
manufacturers,  iron-masters,  engineers,  chemists,  physicians, 
and  philosophers,  all  of  whom  seemed  as  much  interested  in 
improvements  in  the  arts  and  industries  as  in  purely  scientific 
discovery. 

The  Society  held  monthly  meetings  in  Birmingham  at  the 
time  of  full  moon,  these  times  being  selected  in  order  that  the 
members  might  have  the  benefit  of  moonlight  in  returning  to 
their  homes.  The  discussions,  which  were  preceded  by  a  gen- 
erous dinner,  extended  informally  far  into  the  night,  and  al- 
though no  records  of  the  discussions  were  kept,  yet  from  letters 
of  the  members,  which  have  been  preserved,  this  Society  seemed 
to  have  been  a  true  exponent  of  the  condition  of  knowledge,  at 
that  time,  as  far  as  it  related  to  material  developments. 

Priestly  had  but  recently  made  his  remarkable  discoveries  of 
oxygen,  hydrogen,  carbonic  acid  and  other  gases,  but  explained 
these  discoveries  to  the  members  of  the  Society  on  the  old 
theory  which  had  been  held  for  one  hundred  years,  and  main- 
tained that  the  gases  which  he  had  found  were  different  kinds 
of  air  from  which  an  imponderable  substance — Phlogiston — 
had  been  eliminated  or  evolved.  Neither  he  nor  his  greatly- 
interested  associates  in  the  Society  had  at  the  time  any  true  con- 
ception of  the  nature  of  chemical  combinations,  and  although 
the  discoveries  of  Priestly  led  to  the  otherthrow,  by  Lavoiser 
and  others,  of  the  Phlogistic  theory  and  the  establishment  of 
the  true  nature  of  chemical  action  before  the  end  of  the  century, 
yet  Priestly  himself  remained  until  his  death,  in  Pennsylvania 
in  the  year  1804,  a  firm  believer  in  this  absurd  theory,  which 
had  been  so  long  taught  and  accepted,  and  which  if  now  main- 
tained would  be  received,  not  with  incredulity,  but  derision. 

Not  less  remarkable,  as  it  now  appears  to  us,  is  the  fact  that 
another  member  of  the  Lunar  Society,  the  distinguished  in- 
ventor of  the  steam  engine,  then  engaged  near  Birmingham 
with  his  partner,  Boulton,  in  the  construction  of  engines,  could 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE  CONGRESS.  241 

be  furnished  by  men  of  science  with  no  other  theoretical  basis 
for  the  explanation  of  the  action  of  steam  than  that  heat,  the 
source  of  the  power  which  his  engines  were  transforming  into 
useful  work,  was  a  material  substance  ;  a  belief  maintained  by 
the  great  mathematician  of  that  age,  L,a  Place,  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death,  in  the  year  1827. 

The  true  theory  of  this  important  branch  of  physics  was  not 
finally  established  and  universally  accepted  until  about  the  year 
1845,  after  Joule  had  definitely  demonstrated  that  heat  is  a  form 
of  kinetic  energy,  by  determining  the  exact  and  invariable 
dynamical  relations  which  govern  the  reciprocal  transmuta- 
tions between  this  physical  agent  and  ordinary  forms  of  work 
or  energy. 

The  new  science  of  Thermodynamics,  based  upon  these  dis- 
coveries, soon  became  reduced  to  mathematical  analysis,  revolu- 
tionizing all  the  physical  sciences  and  leading  directly  to  the 
establishment  of  the  important  principles  of  the  correlation  of 
forces,  or  the  conservation  of  energy,  and  finally  in  more  recent 
times  to  the  recognition  of  the  fact  that  electricity  is  also  a  form 
of  energy  subject  to  exact  dynamical  laws  which,  like  those  of 
heat,  have  become  developed  into  a  mathematical  science. 

The  otherthrow  of  the  Phlogistic  theory  about  the  beginning 
of  the  century,  attended  by  the  introduction  of  the  true  science 
of  chemistry,  and  the  definite  foundation  of  the  new  science  of 
heat,  with  its  far-reaching  consequences,  are  the  two  great 
events  which  mark  the  last  one  hundred  years  of  scientific 
progress. 

Previous  to  the  introduction  of  the  steam  engine  by  Watt 
mills  were  dependent  upon  water  or  wind  power,  and  were 
necessarily  few  in  number.  Hand  labor  in  the  fabrication  of 
implements  and  the  preparation  of  useful  material  was  the  main 
resource.  Ocean  and  river  commerce  were  dependent  upon  the 
winds,  and  a  knowledge  of  masonry,  carpentry  and  hydraulics 
were  the  chief  acquirements  of  the  engineer. 

In  the  Universities,  although  science  was  taught,  yet  its 
domain  was  limited,  and  the  instruction  given  was  merely  an 
incident  in  the  education  leading  to  degrees  in  the  professions 
of  law,  medicine  and  theology. 


242  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

A  spirit  of  experimental  inquiry  had,  however,  been 
awakened,  which  was  destined  to  spread  and  continue  with 
increasing  activity,  and  which  under  the  later  impetus  given  to 
scientific  thought  by  the  discoveries  of  the  laws  of  heat  and  the 
science  of  energy,  led  to  the  establishment  of  new  sciences,  new 
professions  and  new  fields  of  labor  and  invention. 

Scientific  discoveries  were  quickly  taken  up  and  brought  to 
useful  purposes,  and  in  colleges  and  universities  it  became 
recognized,  though  reluctantly,  and  not  without  much  contro- 
versy that  the  broad  domain  of  scientific  progress  was  not  only 
giving  rise  to  new  learned  professions,  but  that  special  bodies 
of  teachers,  special  departments,  and  even  special  institutions 
of  learning,  with  independent  faculties,  were  required  to  meet 
the  demands  of  a  new  education. 

Thus  originated,  in  this  country  at  least,  the  technical  schools, 
which  in  one  form  or  another  are  now  found  connected  with 
most  of  our  great  educational  institutions,  and  often  exist  as 
true  and  independent  seats  of  learning,  having  the  full  power 
of  conferring  technical  degrees. 

A  new  principle  or  motive  has  thus  been  introduced  in  higher 
education,  which  recognizes  professions  that  demand  not  only 
profound  learning  in  the  mathematical  and  natural  sciences, 
but  knowledge  and  skill  in  their  useful  applications. 

Academic,  as  well  as  popular  honors,  are  now  considered  to 
be  due  to  him  who  makes  a  scientific  discovery  useful  as  well 
as  to  him  who  makes  a  useful  scientific  discovery. 

The  technical  schools  are  thus  not  only  departments  of  re- 
search in  science,  but,  in  their  teachings,  the  exponents  of 
material  progress. 

They  are  sought  by  a  large  number  of  young  men  who 
finally  enter  upon  vocations  intimately  connected  with  engi- 
neering and  industrial  enterprises,  and  who  contribute  directly, 
in  many  ways,  to  the  diffusion  of  scientific  knowledge  among 
the  people. 

These  are  the  conditions  now  existing,  under  which  we  have 
to  consider  more  particularly  the  effect  which  technical  schools 
have  upon  material  progress  or  the  progress  of  invention. 

One  important  feature  of  these  institutions  is,  that  the  in- 
struction given  aims  not  only  to  acquaint  the  student  with  the 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  243 

fundamental  laws  of  science  by  systematic  demonstrations  and 
explanations,  but  also  with  the  methods  and  the  limits  of  the 
applications  of  those  laws  to  useful  purposes. 

Teaching  is  illustrated  by  examples  drawn  from  practice,  or 
by  the  examination  and  discussion  of  hypothetical  problems, 
chosen  with  special  reference  to  practical  applications. 

The  student  is  constantly  reminded  of  the  fact,  that  while 
no  successful  device  or  combination,  of  whatever  character, 
can  violate  the  fundamental  laws  of  science  and  of  nature,  yet 
there  is  a  vast  difference  between  a  theoretical  conception  and 
its  practical  and  useful  realization  ;  that  the  circumstances  and 
conditions  of  use  are  of  no  less  importance  than  fundamental 
principles. 

The  training  of  the  drawing-room  and  the  exercises  in  the 
mechanical,  chemical,  physical  and  electric  laboratories  are  de- 
signed to  give  not  only  a  mastery  of  the  principles  of  drawing, 
of  mechanism,  and  of  chemistry  and  physics,  and  thus  furnish  a 
broad  foundation  in  scientific  learning,  but  also  to  cultivate 
discrimination  and  judgment,  by  which  errors  in  practice  are  to 
be  avoided  and  time  and  money  saved,  which  might  otherwise 
be  expended  in  costly  or  fruitless  experiments  or  constructions. 

Technical  schools  exert  a  primary  and  important  influence 
also  in  developing  and  enlarging  the  fields  of  applied  science, 
not  only  by  investigation  and  research,  but  by  stimulating  and 
encouraging  the  applications  of  new  discoveries  to  the  arts 
and  manufactures ;  by  reducing  such  applications  to  laws  and 
general  principles,  and  by  contributing  to  the  maintenance  of 
scientific  scocieties  and  scientific  publications  devoted  to  the  dif- 
fusion of  the  knowledge  gained  by  practice  and  experience. 

One  hundred  years  ago  important  inventions  like  those  of 
Watt  were  submitted  to  a  few  learned  men  only,  who  alone  could 
understand  or  appreciate  their  significance.  To-day  the  sci- 
entific press  scatters  far  and  near,  in  language  easily  compre- 
hended, a  knowledge  of  all  new  discoveries  and  new  devices  ; 
and  critics  are  found  in  the  work-shop,  on  the  farm,  and  in  the 
household,  who  are  able  intelligently  to  discuss  the  subjects 
thus  brought  before  them ;  and  if  an  invention  successfully 
passes  the  ordeal  of  such  discussions,  it  may  be  said  to  be  fairly 
entitled  to  favorable  attention. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

The  age  in  which  we  live  is  thus  intensely  practical  and  ex- 
cites the  inventive  spirit ;  and  they  who  are  deceived  by  what 
is  false  in  pretended  applications  of  science,  are  generally  mis- 
led on  account  of  inexcusable  ignorance  and  a  failure  to  in- 
form themselves  through  ordinary  and  accessible  channels  of 
knowledge.  To  technical  schools  is  to  be  credited  in  no  small 
degree  this  diffusion  of  exact  scientific  knowledge  in  its  appli- 
cations to  the  arts  and  industries,  and  in  promoting  and  quick- 
ening popular  comprehension  of  the  principles  which  form  the 
basis  of  all  progress. 

The  cultivation  of  certain  arts  of  manipulation  and  of  experi- 
mental research,  which  is  carried  to  the  highest  degree  in 
technical  schools,  deserves  mention,  inasmuch  as  these  arts  are 
often  not  only  essential  requisites  to  successful  inventions,  but 
furnish  the  only  means  for  their  perfect  illustration  and  expla- 
nation. Among  these  arts  are  instrumental  drawing,  methods 
of  chemical  analysis,  and  the  use  of  testing  instruments  and  ap- 
paratus in  engineering  physical  and  electrical  investigations ; 
-all  of  which  not  only  contribute  to  the  formation  of  habits  of 
exactness  in  professional  work,  but  suggest  ideas  which  might 
not  otherwise  have  presented  themselves. 

Few  persons  understand,  for  example,  the  value  of  the  art 
of  instrumental  drawing.  A  correct  drawing  is  generally  re- 
garded as  a  kind  of  language  which  conveys  definite  ideas  from 
one  person  to  another  ;  but  it  is  not  so  universally  understood 
that  the  drawing-board,  to  the  designer  or  inventor,  is  more 
than  a  tablet  for  the  presentation  or  record  of  his  ideas  by  a 
peculiar  sign  language ;  that  it  is  a  most  efficient  instructor, 
assisting  the  imagination  and  furnishing  new  ideas,  or  new 
proportions,  as  the  work  of  designing  progresses.  As  a  ready 
and  complete  vocabulary  in  written  or  spoken  language  not 
only  furnishes  a  great  variety  of  shades  of  expression,  but  sug- 
gests appropriate  illustrations  and  even  new  thoughts,  so  does 
the  drawing-board  in  the  hands  of  a  skillful  designer  prompt 
new  combinations,  new  proportions,  and  often  different  modes 
of  treatment  of  a  practical  problem. 

A  complete  knowledge  of  the  methods  of  making  proper 
measurements  and  tests,  by  which  is  to  be  investigated  the 
practicability  or  usefulness  of  a  supposed  discovery,  or  process, 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  245 

in  any  of  the  branches  of  applied  Physics,  Mechanics  or  Chem- 
istry, is  best  obtained  by  practice  and  experience  in  the  labo- 
ratories of  the  technical  schools.  These  laboratories  are  in 
fact  the  only  resource  of  the  inventor  in  cases  where  private 
laboratories  are  not  available,  or  where  tests  and  experiments, 
require  apparatus  and  appliances  which  are  found  only  in  the 
equipments  devoted  to  research  and  investigation  furnished  by 
educational  institutions. 

Graduates  of  technical  schools  in  this  country  in  large  and 
increasing  numbers  go  out  to  the  various  communities,  carry- 
ing with  them  the  broad  and  thorough  acquirements  in  theo- 
retical and  practical  knowledge  which  they  have  gained,  and 
the  facilities  in  drawing,  analysis,  testing  and  measurement 
attained  in  their  laboratory  practice,  and  become  teachers  in 
their  professions,  diffusing  sound  principles  of  science  in  its 
applications  to  every  art,  manufacture  and  industry. 

While  it  is  impossible,  except  in  a  very  general  way,  to  esti- 
mate  the  important  influences  of  technical  schools  in  all  these 
respects,  yet  these  influences  are  universally  recognized  as, 
familiarizing  the  public  mind  with  the  true  agencies  of  material 
progress,  and  as  furnishing  to  inventors,  continually,  new 
points  of  departure  for  future  improvements. 

The  knowledge  thus  acquired  and  diffused  tends  also  to 
cultivate  definite  and  true  distinctions  between  what  is  old,  or 
unpatentable,  and  what  is  new ;  and  also  a  discriminating 
judgment  in  regard  to  what  is  practicable  and  useful. 

That  the  Patent  Office  of  the  government  recognizes  the- 
value  of  this  new  education  is  evident  from  the  fact,  that  of  the 
one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  assistant  examiners  one-third  are 
graduates  of  technical  schools.  These  are  employed  to  a  great 
extent  in  the  divisions  which  cover  the  largest  industries,  such 
as  steam  engineering,  chemical  applications  and  manufactures, 
metallurgy,  and  the  manufacture  of  textile  fabrics ;  where  in 
each  a  wide  range  of  knowledge  in  the  applied  sciences  is  re- 
quired. 

Another  important  field  of  usefulness  for  technical  training, 
in  connection  with  inventions,  is  in  the  drawing  up  of  specifica- 
tions and  claims  to  accompany  applications  for  patents,  and  also 
in  legal  practice  connected  with  patent  cases.  The  inventor 


246  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

needs  both  legal  and  technical  advice  in  preparing  his  claims 
and  specifications,  and  his  rights  are  apt  to  be  endangered  or 
sacrificed  if  such  advice  is  not  well  founded.  It  is  here  that 
questions  of  "  equivalent  devices,"  of  "  novelty,"  and  of  "use- 
fulness" should  be  profoundly  considered.  Although  such 
questions,  in  case  of  litigation,  must  be  finally  decided  by  the 
Courts,  yet  vast  expenditures  in  the  aggregate,  both  of  time  and 
money,  depend  on  a  correct  analysis  of  an  invention  and  a 
proper  statement  of  the  specifications  and  claims  of  the  inventor. 
This  involves  the  competence  and  technical  acquirements  of  the 
solicitor  or  agent ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  this  branch  of  pro- 
fessional practice  has  been  placed  upon  a  more  certain  and  se- 
cure basis  of  late  years  through  the  influence  and  teachings  of 
our  technical  schools. 

In  cases  of  patent  litigation,  expert  testimony  has  become  a 
necessity.  Questions  of  fact  involved  are  not,  as  in  other  cases 
which  come  before  the  courts  and  juries,  matters  of  observation 
merely,  but  depend  often  upon  a  proper  interpretation  of  ob- 
served phenomena  in  a  realm  of  knowledge  which  often  lies 
beyond  the  comprehension  of  unskilled  or  ordinary  witnesses. 
On  account  of  the  great  extent  of  the  various  fields  of  art  and 
industry  which  offer  opportunities  for  new  and  useful  discover- 
ies or  inventions,  the  Courts  are  obliged  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  knowledge  of  special  witnesses,  who  from  their  education 
and  training  are  presumed  to  be  competent  to  make  explana- 
tions, to  give  sound  advice,  or  to  express  opinions  based  upon 
the  infallible  laws  of  science  and  nature.  Expert  witnesses 
often  take  a  partisan  view  of  their  positions  it  is  true,  and  con- 
sider themselves  in  duty  bound  to  try  to  win  the  cases  on  which 
they  are  engaged.  While  this  is  an  evil,  the  tendency  of  which 
is  to  bring  all  such  expert  testimony  into  contempt,  yet  the 
discrimination  of  the  Courts  is  a  corrective  influence  through 
which  the  truth  is  finally  established. 

Among  the  important  influences  arising  from  the  more  gen- 
eral dissemination  of  exact  knowledge  in  the  applied  sciences 
through  technical  schools,  is  to  be  considered  also  the  ability 
of  the  public  to  detect  and  reject  what,  for  an  invention,  is 
falsely  claimed  or  pretended.  The  utility  of  an  invention  is  a 
question  of  practical  demonstration  ;  and  while  many  valuable 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  247 

discoveries  or  devices  undoubtedly  fail  to  be  brought  into  use 
for  want  of  means  to  procure  thorough  and  exhaustive  tests, 
yet  many  on  the  other  hand  absorb  large  sums  of  money  in 
fruitless  trials,  when  a  simple  scientific  investigation  would  at 
a  comparatively  small  cost  have  demonstrated  their  commercial 
or  industrial  inutility. 

If  the  history  of  the  scrap-heaps  of  our  machine  shops  could 
be  written  there  would  be  a  startling  exhibit  of  money  wasted  in 
such  unnecessary  experiments.  It  is  true  that  without  trials  of 
some  sort  there  could  be  no  progress,  but  there  is  a  vast  differ- 
ence between  experiments  based  upon  sound  principles  and 
reasonable  probabilities  of  success,  and  those  undertaken  upon 
scientific  fallacies.  It  is  precisely  here  in  the  distinction  of 
what  is  possible  and  probable  in  the  use  of  an  invention,  and 
what  is  impossible  or  extremely  improbable,  that  exact  tech- 
nical knowledge  lends  its  powerful  aid,  saving  money  on  the 
one  hand  or  promoting  what  is  useful  on  the  other. 

When  those  who  have  super  abundant  means  are  induced  to 
aid  in  costly  experimental  trials  of  an  invention,  success  or 
failure  is  to  them  a  matter  of  small  moment,  but  to  those  who 
are  persuaded  to  risk  their  small  savings  in  the  success  of  a 
patent  the  matter  is  more  serious,  and  their  greatest  safety  lies 
in  the  increase  and  diffuson  of  popular  scientific  knowledge. 

Perhaps  at  no  time  during  the  progress  of  invention  has  the 
necessity  of  safe-guards  against  unsound  projects  been  greater 
than  at  present.  The  marvelous  successes,  financially,  of  a  few 
patents  during  late  years,  while  stimulating  the  inventive  spirit, 
have  also  tended  to  create  widespread  desire  among  certain 
classes  in  all  communities  to  invest,  in  what,  in  a  certain  sense, 
may  be  called  the  "  patent  lottery."  An  announcement  of  a 
discovery  of  a  new  source  of  power,  or  of  methods  by  which 
known  sources  of  power  may  be  economized  to  a  degree  beyond 
all  present  belief  or  expectation,  and  the  arts  of  progress  thus 
practically  revolutionized,  is  one  which  is  sure  to  command  the 
attention  and  to  enlist  the  aid  of  persons,  here  and  there,  who 
know  just  enough  of  the  laws  of  energy  to  make  them  easy 
victims,  but  who  with  a  little  better  knowledge  might  have 
saved  themselves  and  others  from  serious  pecuniary  loss.  At 
one  time  it  is  the  bi-sulphide  of  carbon  engine,  which  is  to  save 


248  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

two-thirds  of  the  coal  now  used  by  the  steam  engine.  An 
inventor  imagines  that  the  vapor  of  sulphide  of  carbon  if  inter- 
posed as  a  working  fluid  between  the  steam  boiler  and  the  con- 
denser will  in  some  undefined  way  increase  enormously  the 
power  derived  from  the  combustion  of  a  given  amount  of  coal 
in  the  boiler.  He  induces  a  few  friends  to  aid  him  in  an  ex- 
perimental trial,  which  is  apparently  highly  satisfactory;  a 
company  is  formed  with  an  immense  capital,  the  stock,  under 
an  inflated  scheme,  sells  at  high  prices  ;  a  few  make  money  by 
the  sale  of  the  stock,  but  the  many  stockholders  suffer  the  loss 
of  their  investments. 

At  another  time  it  is  discovered  by  some  genius  that  naptha 
mixed  with  steam  at  the  nozzle  of  a  steam  pipe  and  directed 
upon  incandescent  fuel  furnishes  a  brilliant  combustion  and  a 
high  temperature,  and  the  discoverer  becomes  possessed  with  the 
idea  that  the  steam  is  burned — that  he  has  found  a  process  for 
burning  water.  A  cheap  apparatus  for  showing  the  phenomena 
is  exhibited  ;  extravagant  possibilities  are  claimed  for  the  inven- 
tion and  the  inventor  proceeds  to  sell  ' '  territories, ' '  realizing  a 
handsome  fortune.  And  although  he  may  possibly  honestly 
believe  in  his  invention,  through  ignorance,  yet,  like  the  other, 
it  fails  to  produce  the  enormous  results  claimed  for  it. 

A  complete  revolution  in  the  propulsion  of  vessels  in  naviga- 
tion is  another  prolific  theme.  An  inventor  imagines  that  the 
great  secret  of  economy  and  speed  lies  in  jet  propulsion.  A 
new  idea  is  propounded,  that  a  very  small  jet  of  water  driven 
by  pressure  at  a  high  velocity  from  the  stern  of  a  vessel  is  the 
long  looked-for,  but  hitherto  unrecognized,  secret  of  obtaining 
at  the  same  time  great  velocity  and  economy.  The  ' '  ocean 
greyhounds ' '  are  to  be  sent  across  the  Atlantic  in  thirty  hours, 
being  propelled  by  a  jet  of  water  a  few  inches  in  diameter, 
forced  at  a  high  velocity  from  the  sterns  of  the  ships. 

These  are  not  ideal  cases,  but  are  unfortunately  taken 
from  real  life — from  actual  occurrences  during  the  last  decade. 
The  money  lost  and  the  time  lost  in  costly  attempts  to  demon- 
strate what  could  have  been  proved  to  have  been  fallacious 
might  have  been  saved  to  those  who  were  misled,  if  they  had 
been  willing  to  listen  to  a  few  plain,  simple  explanations  of 
the  laws  of  applied  science  in  the  first  instance. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   CONGRESS.  249 

The  new  science  of  energy,  to  which  reference  has  been 
made,  has  not  only  furnished  clear  and  definite  ideas  of  the 
relations  to  each  other  of  the  various  sources  of  power  in 
nature,  but  has  defined  the  limits,  respectively,  of  their  useful 
and  economical  applications,  and  the  most  elementary  scientific 
discussion  of  such  cases  as  are  above  given,  illustrative  of 
efforts  to  find  new  and  extraordinary  sources  of  power  or 
methods  hitherto  unknown  of  applying  to  useful  work  those 
sources  of  power  which  are  known,  would  have  been  sufficient 
to  have  shown  the  fallacies  under  which  the  attempts  were 
conceived  and  executed. 

Important  inventions  leading  to  widespread  improvements  in 
the  arts  or  to  new  industries  do  not  come  by  chance,  or  as  sud- 
den inspirations,  but  are  in  almost  every  instance  the  result  of 
long  and  exhaustive  researches  by  men  whose  thorough  famil- 
iarity with  their  subjects  enables  them  to  see  clearly  the  way  to 
improvements.  Almost  all  important  and  successful  inventions 
which  have  found  their  way  into  general  use  and  acceptance 
have  been  the  products  of  well-balanced  and  thoughtful  minds, 
capable  of  patient,  laborious  investigation,  and  have  been 
prompted  mainly  by  the  hope  or  sentiment  of  giving  something 
useful  to  mankind. 

This  sentiment  has  characterized  the  labors  of  the  men  in  this 
country  whose  names  make  up  a  long  roll  of  illustrious  inven- 
tors, and,  whose  works  have  not  only  contributed  largely  to  the 
national  prosperity,  but  have  exalted  the  national  reputation. 

These  are  not  the  men  who  proclaim  in  advance  the  great 
value  of  their  devices,  and  endeavor  to  reap  rich  profits  before 
the  utility  of  their  discoveries  has  been  demonstrated  ;  but  on 
the  contrary,  among  the  names  composing  the  long  list  of  pub- 
lic benefactors,  whose  inventions  have  given  substantial  benefits 
to  millions,  are  found  those  of  men  who  have  received  little  re- 
ward for  their  personal  sacrifices,  when  a  grateful  people  would 
have  been  glad  to  have  showered  upon  them  both  pecuniary 
benefits  and  public  honors. 

So  rapid  is  the  progress  at  the  present  day  of  both  practical 
and  scientific  discovery  that  there  is  a  universal  consciousness 
of  the  existence  of  a  sort  of  intellectual  vis  viva  in  practical  and 
theoretical  science,  which,  reversing  the  law  of  material  or 


250  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   CONGRESS. 

kinetic  energy,  seems  to  increase  in  proportion  to  the  resistances 
which  have  been  overcome.  Theory  and  practice  have  become 
thoroughly  united,  the  deductions  of  the  former  being  instantly 
brought  into  use  by  the  latter,  while  both  contemplate  for  the 
future  greater  achievements  based  upon  the  strong  foundations 
of  the  past  and  present. 

Electrical,  Physical,  and  Chemical  Laboratories  were  never 
more  active  in  leading  the  way  for  the  Engineer,  the  Metallur- 
gist, and  the  Manufacturer  to  follow  in  the  tide  of  industrial 
and  manufacturing  progress  ;  and  never  before  has  there  been 
a  time  when  so  many  young  men,  splendidly  equipped  for  the 
work  before  them,  have  been  added  yearly  to  the  ranks  of  sci- 
entific workers. 

The  field  of  invention  thus  grows  larger  and  its  aims  higher. 
As  one  branch  of  practical  knowledge  becomes  in  a  degree  ex- 
hausted to  the  inventor  another  springs  up  to  take  its  place. 

In  this  great  and  continued  movement  every  man  is  a  bene- 
factor who  contributes  to  that  kind  of  useful  knowledge,  whether 
it  be  theoretical  or  practical,  which  increases  the  conveniences 
and  comforts  of  living  for  the  great  masses  of  the  human  race, 
and  through  the  influences  which  he  thus  helps  to  create,  lifts 
them  up  to  higher  planes  of  intellectual  and  social  life. 

With  all  such  workers  Technical  Schools  are^in  full  sympathy 
and  active  alliance. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   CONGRESS.  251 


THE   INVENTION   OF  THE  STEAM   ENGINE. 

BY  ROBERT  H.  THURSTON,  A.  M.,  LL.  D.,  DR.  ENG'G  OF  NEW  YORK, 
DIRECTOR  AND  PROFESSOR  OF  MECHANICAL  ENGINEERING,  SIB- 
LEY  COLLEGE,  CORNELL  UNIVERSITY. 

There  can  be,  as  it  seems  to  me,  no  more  fruitful  and  inter- 
esting subject  of  investigation  and  study,  in  the  history  of  the 
race,  than  that  which  notes  the  influence  of  the  earlier  and  the 
later  methods  in  philosophy  upon  the  material  progress  of 
the  world,  and  which  observes  the  result  of  the  introduction  of 
great  inventions  into  the  midst  of  a  society,  on  the  one  hand, 
absolutely  without  sympathy  for  that  inclination  which  stimu- 
lates the  contriver,  and  without  ambition  to  avail  itself  of  the 
advantages  offered  by  his  inventions,  or,  on  the  other  hand, 
among  people  hungry  for  them,  and  for  the  advantages  which 
they  promise. 

Of  this  difference  between  the  older  and  younger  civiliza- 
tions, between  Greek  and  Roman  and  modern  Anglo-Saxon, 
no  better  illustration  can  be  found  than  in  the  History  of  the 
Growth  of  the  Steam  Engine.  Known  two  thousand  years  or 
more  ago,  it  was  made  a  toy  by  the  speculative  and  unutili- 
tarian  Greek  ;  tendered  by  Watt  to  a  modern  world,  it  is  made 
the  foundation  of  all  material  and  even  intellectual  progress. 
Greece  and  Rome,  like  their  predecessors  Babylon,  Nineveh, 
Thebes,  and  Karnak,  reaching  a  certain  point  in  their  civiliza- 
tion, stood  comparatively  at  rest,  and  presently  only  changed 
to  retrograde,  while  handing  on  their  civilization  to  later  rep- 
resentatives of  human  advancement. 

The  world  of  the  nineteenth  century  moves  on  with  a  mighty 
and  accelerated  velocity  ;  gaining  more  in  a  century  than  all 
mankind  had  advanced  in  its  whole  previous  history. 

It  is  to  Science,  pure  and  applied,  that  the  world  owes  all 
these  wonderful  advances  that  we  are  witnessing  now,  even 
more  tnan  in  the  immediate  past.  It  is  to  the  truth-loving 
quality  of  Science  that  we  owe  the  recent  rapid  growth  of  the 
arts.  Only  the  exact  truth  is  sought,  and  everything  yields  to 


252  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

fact.  * '  For  her  the  volume  of  inspiration  is  the  book  of 
Nature,  of  which  the  scroll  is  ever  spread  before  the  eyes  of 
every  man.  Confronting  all,  it  needs  no  societies  for  its  dis- 
semination. Infinite  in  extent,  eternal  in  duration,  human 
ambition  and  human  fanaticism  have  never  been  able  to  tamper 
with  it.  On  the  earth  it  is  illustrated  by  all  that  is  magnifi- 
cent and  beautiful ;  on  the  heavens  its  letters  are  suns  and 
worlds."  The  study  of  science,  directed,  as  it  usually  seems 
to  be,  to  the  improvements  of  the  physical  condition  and  the 
surroundings  of  Man,  actually  leads,  very  directly  and 
promptly,  to  the  improvement  of  his  moral  and  intellectual 
character.  It  gives  him  the  means  of  performing  all  necessary 
work  in  a  shorter  time  than  formerly,  and  thus  sets  free  the 
intellect  and  the  soul  to  carry  on  their  highest  work.  The  ap- 
plications of  science  to  the  useful  arts  not  only  give  us  better 
and  cheaper  clothing,  a  greater  variety  of  wholesome  food,  and 
means  of  rapid  and  easy  transportation,  but  permit  man  to 
think  out,  in  more  and  more  frequent  leisure  moments,  occa- 
sional leisure  hours,  the  problems  of  life,  to  adjust  himself  bet- 
ter to  his  environment,  to  consider  the  needs  of  his  fellows, 
to  find  opportunity  for  exercise  of  his  sympathies,  to  improve 
his  intellectual  powers,  to  acquire  knowledge  on  which  to  ex- 
ercise them,  to  think  out  the  great  moral  problems  of  life  and 
of  death,  and  to  thus  ascend  into  a  higher  and  better  atmos- 
phere, a  nobler  sphere  in  a  boundless  universe  of  mind. 

No  one  has  summarized  the  work  of  science  in  this  century 
better  than  Macaulay  :  ''It  has  lengthened  life;  it  has  miti- 
gated pain ;  has  extinguished  diseases ;  has  increased  the  fer- 
tility of  the  soil ;  given  new  security  to  the  mariner ;  furnished 
new  arms  to  the  warrior  ;  spanned  great  rivers  and  estuaries 
with  bridges  of  form  unknown  to  our  fathers ;  it  has  guided 
the  thunderbolt  innocuously  from  heaven  to  earth ;  it  has 
lighted  up  the  night  with  splendor  of  the  day  ;  it  has  extended 
the  range  of  human  vision  ;  it  has  multiplied  the  power  of  the 
human  muscles ;  it  has  accelerated  motion  ;  it  has  annihilated 
distance ;  it  has  facilitated  intercourse,  correspondence,  all 
friendly  offices,  all  dispatch  of  business  ;  it  has  enabled  man  to 
descend  to  the  depths  of  the  sea,  to  soar  into  the  air,  to  pene- 
trate securely  into  the  noxious  recesses  of  the  earth ;  to 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE   CONGRESS.  253 

traverse  the  land  in  cars  which  whirl  along  without  horses ; 
to  cross  the  ocean  in  ships  which  run  many  knots  an  hour 
against  the  wind.  These  are  but  a  part  of  its  fruits,  and  of  its 
first  fruits,  for  it  is  a  philosophy  which  never  rests,  which  is 
never  perfect.  Its  law  is  progress.  A  point  which  yesterday 
was  invisible  is  its  goal  to-day,  and  will  be  its  starting  point 
to-morrow. ' ' 

The  intellectual,  and  largely  the  moral, .  progress  of  mankind 
depends,  in  a  very  great  degree,  upon  the  material  progress  of 
the  race ;  but  this  in  turn  is  the  product  of  the  labors  of  the 
inventor  and  the  laboring  classes.  The  gain  of  wealth,  on 
which  we  must  inevitably  and  always  depend  for  any  real  and 
permanent  advance  in  whatever  field,  must  inevitably  and 
always  in  turn  depend  upon  two  principal  results  of  the  work 
of  the  engineer's,  the  inventor's,  the  mechanic's  brain  :  (i)  the 
reduction  of  the  cost,  in  money  or  in  labor  as  the  best  gauge,  of 
those  necessaries  of  life  and  of  progress  which  are  in  their  use 
subject  to  destruction,  such  as  food,  clothing,  protection  from 
the  weather ;  (2)  the  rapid  and  permanent  accumulation  of  the 
permanent  forms  of  wealth,  such  as  constitute  the  real  measure 
of  prosperity  and  give  to  a  nation  the  comforts  and  luxuries 
which  are  either  essential  or  conducive  to  leisure  and  thought, 
to  intellectual  development  and  moral  growth.  Poverty  and 
enforced  asceticism  give  unquestionably  large  opportunity  for 
the  development  of  certain  phases  of  the  strongest  characters, 
but  only  leisure  and  voluntary  asceticism  can  produce  the 
highest  development  of  character  and  mental  growth  combined. 

It  is  to  the  producer  of  every  facility  for  the  cheap  supply  of 
perishable  and  destructible  necessaries  that  we  must  mainly 
look  for  aid  in  the  laying  of  a  foundation  for  continual  progress 
in  higher  fields.  It  is  to  the  inventor  and  mechanic  that  we 
must  appeal  mainly  for  the  means  of  easily  sustaining  life  while 
seeking  time  and  opportunity  to  give  to  the  race  the  means  and 
the  opportunity  to  advance  to  a  higher  plane  in  civilization  and 
mental  existence.  It  is  the  wonderful  result  of  the  work  of  the 
inventor  in  the  past  century,  largely  stimulated  by  modern 
scientific  knowledge,  and  perhaps  even  more  by  modern 
methods  of  legal  encouragement  of  the  inventor,  and  of  assur- 
ing to  him  the  full  possession  of  the  fruits  of  his  brain,  that  we 


254  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

owe  the  marvelous  gain  of  a  century.  Watt  would  have  accom- 
plished little  had  he  not  at  the  very  start  hit  upon  the  scien- 
tific principles  of  the  steam  engine.  He  would  probably  have 
accomplished  little  except  for  the  patent  system.  He  would 
hardly  have  had  the  heart  to  attempt  much,  even  then,  nor 
probably  would  his  financial  partner  and  backer,  Matthew 
Boulton,  have  felt  it  safe  to  invest  his  capital,  no  less  essential 
than  the  invention  itself,  in  such  an  enterprise  had  not  the 
new  patent  system  furnished  him  security  for  the  investment 
required — in  shops,  tools  and  financial  operations  attendant 
upon  the  introduction  of  the  new  machine.  Machinery  and  the 
patent  system  are  the  basis  of  the  world's  prosperity  to-day. 
Watt  made  inventions  and  the  capitalist  furnished  the  means 
of  their  construction  and  use,  while  the  patent  system  gave 
security  to  both  inventor  and  capitalist,  and  assured  them  of 
fair  return  of  their  investments  of  time,  thought  and  money. 

As  has  been  often  suggested,  a  new  invention  is  simply  the 
materialization  of  a  new  idea  of  scientific  character  and  useful 
purpose  ;  an  idea  capable  of  supplying  to  mankind  new  com- 
forts, new  conveniences,  new  safeguards  against  want,  pain, 
disease  and  death.  Hvery  new  advance,  even  in  pure  science, 
is  sure  of  ultimately  finding  use  in  the  advancement  of  the  race 
materially  and,  indirectly,  intellectually  and  morally.  The 
perfection  of  a  science  is  the  means  of  perfection  of  an  art,  and 
the  improvement  of  the  arts  is  the  direct  means  of  promoting 
the  highest  as  well  as  the  lower  interests  of  mankind.  It  is 
thus  that  it  has  come  to  pass  that  "  Machinery,  actuated  by  the 
forces  of  nature,  now  performs  with  ease  and  certainty  work 
that  was  formerly  the  drudgery  of  thousands.  Every  natural 
agent  has  been  pressed  into  man's  service — the  winds,  the 
waters,  fire,  gravity,  electricity,  light  itself!"  On  the  shelves 
of  my  library  stand,  side  by  side,  as  I  observed  a  few  days 
ago — so  placed  by  some  curious  accident — a  copy  of  the  tales  of 
the  "  One  Thousand  and  One  Nights  "  and  two  or  three  little 
volumes  of  stories  of  inventors  and  their  inventions,  and  of 
modern  discoveries.  Comparing  these  two  sets  of  fruits  of  the 
human  intellect,  I  find  the  results  of  the  ' '  scientific  use  of  the 
imagination"  on  the  whole  far  more  impressive  and,  in  many 
respects,  far  more  marvelous — not  to  say,  to  the  unfamiliar 
mind,  more  incredible — than  those  of  the  romancist. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  255 

The  military  art  has  always  been  the  sustainer,  as  it  was 
originally  the  parent,  of  the  mathematical  and  physical  sciences. 
The  Greek  camp  and  Alexander's  army  were  the  progenitors 
of  the  great  school  of  Alexandria.  Alexander  the  Great  was 
the  progenitor  of  the  intellectual  offspring  of  Archimedes  and 
of  Euclid,  as  of  the  the  theories  of  Newton,  and  ancient  Greece 
has  been  the  source  of  inspiration  of  all  modern  life.  The 
polytechnic  schools  of  Alexandria  substituted  for  the  specula- 
tive methods  of  Plato  the  logical  philosophy  of  Aristotle  ;  they 
employed  the  reason  in  place  of  the  imagination  in  all  physical 
and  scientific  departments  of  knowledge.  The  home  of  Kratos- 
thenes  and  of  Hipparchus  and  of  Ctesibus,  the  instructor  of 
Hero,  was  the  successor  of  the  camp  of  the  Grecian  con- 
queror, and,  conquests  being  ended,  real  knowledge  became 
the  object  of  ambition.  Speculation  gave  way  to  investigation, 
and  the  triflings  and  aimless  disputations  of  the  older  schools 
were  succeeded  by  the  serious  labor  of  research  and  of  the 
accumulation  of  real  knowledge.  This  serious  and  fruitful 
labor  gave  an  impulse  that  was  never  wholly  lost,  though 
often  seemingly  almost  extinguished  by  the  combined  forces  of 
the  political  and  the  military  spirit  of  later  times.  A  thousand 
years  of  trifling,  the  whole  period  of  the  dark  ages,  could  not 
wholly  destroy  it. 

In  the  history  of  the  world  there  have  been  two  distinct  pe- 
riods of  marked  advance ;  the  one  mainly  philosophical,  the 
other  mainly  material.  These  are  the  times  of  the  Greek 
philosophers,  and  notably  of  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the 
Alexandrian  school,  and  the  times  which  have  brought  us  a 
modern  civilization — the  three  centuries  just  closing.  The 
earlier  period  ''died  with  Hypatia"  of  Alexandria,  and  the 
later  began  with  Newton,  and  is  still  in  full  career.  Both  these 
periods  have  been  distinguished  by  a  singular  freedom  of  intel- 
lectual opinion  and  growth.  In  the  days  of  Aristotle,  of  Soph- 
ocles, of  Plato,  as  of  Archimedes,  of  Hero,  of  the  Ptolomies, 
whatever  may  be  said  of  the  political  status  of  the  citizen,  his 
opinions  were  his  own,  and  his  intellectual  freedom  was  abso- 
lute ;  the  conflicting  sects  and  philosophies  of  that  time  were 
simply  the  free  growth  of  mind  unrestrained  by  social  or  eccle- 
siastical bonds.  In  these  later  days  we  are  just  regaining  a 


256  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

somewhat  similar  freedom  of  intellect,  through  the  all-pervad- 
ing influence  of  modern  scientific  methods  and  principles.  That 
political  freedom  which  has  just  begun  to  come  to  the  citizen 
of  even  the  monarchies  of  Europe  ;  that  social  freedom  which 
has  its  best  illustrations,  as  well  as  its  most  grotesque  monstros- 
ities, in  the  United  States ;  that  intellectual  freedom  which 
stimulates,  as  well  as  permits,  advance  in  every  department  of 
modern  life,  in  science,  religion,  invention,  in  all  the  arts  :  all 
these  forms  of  freedom  are  but  phases  of  one  mighty  develop- 
ment of  human  progress  distinguishing  our  own  time.  It  is 
all  precisely  the  same  imiversal  unrestraint,  coming  of  a  com- 
mon cause,  taking  its  effect  primarily  in  political  changes,  so 
far  as  visible,  and  marking  simply  that  impulse  which  is  exhib- 
ited in  any  direction  in  which  great  forces  have  been  long  re- 
sisted and  restrained,  finally  to  be  given  vent,  and  thus  allowed 
to  expend  the  long-stored  energy  in  a  mighty,  and  often  unan- 
ticipated, outburst.  The  improvement  of  the  steam  engine  has 
been  one  of  the  consequences  of  the  same  train  of  events  which 
gave  England  her  Magna  Charta,  and  the  United  States  a  re- 
publican form  of  government ;  which  produced  a  science  of 
chemistry,  and  established  modern  views  in  astronomy  and 
geology. 

The  middle  ages  were  periods  of  repression  ;  the  later  days 
have  seen  the  resultant  expansion.  During  their  whole  extent 
the  transfer  of  learning  from  Alexandria  to  Bagdad,  to  Gra- 
nada ;  the  distribution  of  Saracen  colleges  throughout  Western 
Europe  ;  the  slumbering  of  intellect  in  the  countries  dominated 
by  the  church  during  those  centuries  ;  all  were  simply  the 
transfer  and  the  storage  of  energies,  the  aggregation  of  the 
forces  of  progress,  preparatory  to  their  grander  action  in  the  days 
following  the  martyrdom  of  Bruno  and  of  Galileo,  the  events 
marking  the  dawning  of  a  new  era. 

In  those  older  days,  when  Greek  and  Roman  founded  a  lit- 
erature and  a  philosophy  that  has  been  a  guide  and  an  inspira- 
tion throughout  all  subsequent  times,  the  inventor  and  the 
builder  was  at  a  disadvantage  ;  his  brain  was  trammelled  by  the 
difficulty  of  getting  his  ideas  crystalized  in  metal  and  in  wood. 
To-day  he  can  make  whatever  he  can  devise  ;  then  he  could 
devise  a  thousand  new  instruments,  processes  or  machines,  and 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  257 

not  one  of  the  thousand  might  be  practically  possible.  To-day, 
our  progress  is  only  limited  by  the  rate  of  accomplishment  of 
the  brain  and  its  production  of  representative  ideas. 

When  a  stone  falls  to  the  ground,  from  a  lofty  height,  it 
starts  from  rest  with  an  imperceptible  motion,  gradually  in- 
creases its  speed  by  a  regular  acceleration,  and,  falling  faster 
and  faster,  finally  reaches  the  ground  with  an  acquired  velocity 
that  can  only  be  compared  to  that  of  a  cannon-shot.  The 
alpine  avalanche,  slowly  sliding  along  the  smooth  surfaces  of 
rocks  and  soil  at  the  mountain  top,  exerting  a  power  that  a 
child  might  successfully  oppose,  gathers  energy  as  it  moves, 
increasing  its  speed,  storing  more  and  more  power  as  it  slides 
over  the  declivity,  affects  larger  and  larger  masses,  and,  at  last, 
descends  into  the  valley  below  with  the  roar  of  a  tempest  and 
the  destructive  effect  of  a  thousand  torrents,  moving  downward 
with  the  velocity  of  a  lightning-flash.  To  one  who  reads  the 
history  of  the  development  of  civilization  among  mankind, 
from  the  earliest  days  of  the  oriental  empires  to  the  present, 
this  same  universal  law  of  accelerated  progress  seems  to  come 
in  play  in  the  origination  and  perfection  of  the  sciences,  the 
literatures,  and  the  arts.  The  dawning  of  civilization  among 
the  ancients  was  but  recording  in  a  scanty  literature  the 
wanderings,  the  speculations,  the  imaginations  of  adult  chil- 
dren, interspersed  with  the  gossip  and  tradition  of  verbal  his- 
tory. Science  had  no  place  in  their  pantology  ;  the  arts  had 
only  made  the  most  simple  beginnings  in  the  provision  of  the 
merest  necessaries  of  a  most  simple  life.  Progress  was  hardly 
perceptible,  century  by  century  ;  the  people  of  one  age  lived 
much  the  same  as  did  those  of  the  preceding;  "what  was 
good  enough  for  grandparents  was  considered  good  enough  for 
grandchildren,"  and  invention  and  discovery  were  words  of 
little  import.  Homer  probably  knew  no  other  literature  than 
the  epic ;  the  builders  of  the  pyramids  were  unacquainted 
with  any  other  mechanism  than  the  simplest  devices  called  by 
us,  today,  the  mechanical  powers.  Hero  and  the  Greeks  were 
familiar  with  the  expansive  force  of  steam,  but  they  had  no 
way  of  using  it  in  the  arts,  and  their  only  steam  engine  was 
the  aeolipile,  a  whirling  globe,  impelled  by  the  reaction  of  steam 
jets.  The  first  principles  of  scientific  method  and  the  simplest 


258  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

facts  of  science  were  unrecognized  by  the  people  of  the  time 
of  Christ  and  the  Romans.  Menelaus  and  Achilles  took  their 
armies  to  the  coast  of  .Troy  in  boats  impelled  by  sails  and  oars; 
and  their  troops  fought  with  arrows  and  spears ;  Alexander 
conquered  the  world  of  his  time  ignorant  of  gunpowder  ;  Caesar 
conquered  Gaul  and  wrote  his  commentaries  unaware  of  the 
potentialities  of  artillery  and  of  the  printing  press ;  and  the 
dark  ages  that  intervened,  to  the  times  of  Galileo  and  Newton, 
were  unenlightened  by  even  the  intelligent  anticipation  of  gas 
or  the  electric  light. 

Our  own  ancestors  of  a  century  or  two  ago  knew  absolutely 
nothing  of  any  one  of  the  most  useful  inventions  or  discoveries 
that  seem  to  us  to-day  to  be  so  essential  to  our  comfort,  except 
the  one  art  of  printing.  The  perfection  of  the  steam  engine 
has  been  the  work  of  this  century  ;  the  introduction  of  the 
telegraph,  the  railroad,  the  steamboat,  of  the  telephone  and  of 
the  power  press,  are  all  the  work  of  mechanics  and  men  of 
science  with  whom  our  own  parents  and  grandparents  were 
acquainted,  or  who  are  our  own  contemporaries.  The  lever, 
the  wedge,  and  the  screw  were  the  great  inventions  of  the 
ancients.  The  mariner's  compass,  and  the  art  of  printing,  the 
the  introduction  of  firearms  and  artillery  were  the  gauges  of 
the  progress  of  the  world  in  the  middle  ages,  while  our  own 
times  have  seen  an  innumerable  list  of  inventions  contributing 
to  the  comfort  of  humanity  and  its  better  life. 

To  one  who  has  read  of  the  rude  beginnings  of  science,  and 
of  the  arts  in  the  times  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  of  the 
Oriental  civilizations,  of  the  Egyptians  and  of  the  Saracens, 
and  who  has  noted  the  slow  progress  of  the  world  through  the 
middle  ages  and  who  has  observed  the  culmination,  possibly,  of 
this  acceleration  in  the  productive  century  in  which  we  live ; 
to  one  who  has  studied  the  growth  of  the  steam  engine  from 
the  toy  of  Hero  of  Alexandria,  two  thousand  years  ago,  through 
the  various  rude  and  ineffective  devices  of  the  intermediate 
centuries,  to  the  time  of  Worcester,  of  Savery ,  and  of  Newcomen 
and  the  wonderful  outcome  of  the  work  of  James  Watt ;  who 
has  seen  the  steamboat  grow  from  the  little  craft  of  the  time  of 
Fulton  and  Stevens  to  the  shape  of  the  floating  palaces  on  Long 
Island  Sound  and  the  great  steamer  of  10,000  tons  burden, 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  259 

carrying  a  thousand  passengers  across  the  Atlantic  at  the  speed 
of  a  railway  train,  and  the  mighty  iron-clad,  almost  impene- 
trable by  the  heaviest  ordnance,  and  itself  throwing  tons  of 
steel  shot  at  a  broadside  miles  through  the  air,  starting  with  a 
velocity  double  that  of  sound  itself ;  to  one  who  has  witnessed 
the  development  of  the  railroad  from  an  insignificant  beginning 
only  a  little  more  than  a  half  century  ago,  two  generations  at 
most,  to  its  present  state,  with  its  forty,  fifty,  and  one  hundred- 
ton  locomotives,  its  thousand  tons  of  train,  conveying  food 
and  comforts  across  a  continent  at  a  cost  of  less  than  a  cent  per 
ton  per  mile,  bringing  to  the  laboring  man  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  a  barrel  of  flour  a  year  for  each  member  of  his  family, 
from  Minnesota,  nearly  fifteen  hundred  miles  away,  for  less 
than  a  dollar ;  with  its  magnificent  train  of  palace  and  sleeping 
cars  rushing  from  New  York  to  Chicago,  a  thousand  miles  in 
twenty-four  hours,  or  swinging  in  tremendous  power  across  the 
continent  to  San  Francisco  in  four  days ;  to  one  who  has 
wondered  at  the  beautiful  applications  of  electric  science  to  the 
purposes  of  life  and  business,  as  illustrated  in  the  the  telegraph, 
transmitting  its  message  in  the  lightning-flash  from  continent 
to  continent  and  around  the  world,  or  in  the  telephone,  bring- 
ing friends,  miles  apart,  t£te  a  t£te,  or  in  the  electric  light,  turning 
night  into  day  and  driving  crime  into  its  remotest  dens,  while 
giving  all  the  industries  the  power  of  doubling  their  productive- 
ness; and  to  one  who  has  seen  the  modern  power-press  printing 
newspapers  by  the  mile,  cutting  and  trimming  them  to  size, 
folding  and  wrapping  them  for  transmission  to  distant  readers 
by  a  system  of  mail  distribution  which  equally  well  illustrates 
the  progress  of  the  age  in  methods  and  organization  and  indus- 
tries :  to  one  who  has  perceived  all  this,  the  thought  must 
inevitably  come  that  there  must  be  a  limit  to  such  speed  of 
advance  as  we  are  now  witnessing,  and  the  law  of  acceleration 
must  sometime  cease  to  operate  ;  and  the  question  must  suggest 
itself — Where  is  the  limit  ?  What  is  coming  in  the  future  of 
the  race  ?  What  are  the  possibilities  ?  What  wonders  may  we 
expect  that  Science  may  still  discover  ?  What  may  probably 
be  their  effect  on  the  life  of  the  world?  What  are  likely 
to  be  the  characteristics  of  the  ' '  Coming  Race, ' '  of  its  social 
life  and  of  its  moral,  its  intellectual,  its  physical  conditions? 


260  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

Bulwer  drew  upon  the  imagination  of  a  romancer  for  his  ideal 
of  the  future.  What  may  the  imagination  of  a  man  of  science 
perceive,  guided  by  his  more  rational  view  of  the  past,  of  the 
present,  and  of  the  general  course  of  progress  in  invention  and 
discovery  ? 

In  all  of  the  great  operations  of  Nature  the  course  and  the 
rate  of  movement  are  determined  by  the  well-known  principle 
of  the  ' '  persistence  of  energy ' '  and  by  that  of  the  Law  of 
Newton,  asserting  that  she  invariably  endeavors  to  preserve  the 
existing  condition  of  motion,  and  that  all  motions  tend  to  con- 
tinue uniformly  to  follow  a  right  line,  resisting  invariably  every 
tendency  to  effect  a  deviation  from  the  existing  course,  with  a 
power  which  is  proportional  to  the  rate  at  which  such  deviation 
from  the  motion  of  the  moment  is  forced.  Nature  never  turns 
a  sharp  corner,  and  we  may  probably  as  well  judge  the  future 
of  the  great  intellectual  and  social  movements  by  the  laws  of 
energy  as  anticipate  physical  motions. 

In  writing  the  history  of  the  ' '  Growth  of  the  Steam  Engine ' ' 
years  ago,  I  divided  it  into  three  periods,  that  of  speculation, 
that  of  development  and  application ;  that  of  refinement  or 
improvement  in  detail.  The  first  period  is  that  of  Hero  and 
the  Greek  speculative  philosophy,  the  second  that  of  Watt  and 
his  predecessors  in  the  invention  of  the  machine,  that  of  the 
opening  of  the  modern  epoch  ;  and  the  third  is  that  comprising 
the  whole  of  the  present  century,  with  all  its  wonders;  it  is 
the  outcome  of  the  last,  the  fruit  of  a  minute  seed  planted  in 
the  first  of  these  eras.  The  men  to  whom  the  world  is  to-day 
indebted  mainly  for  all  that  it  enjoys  of  material  advantage,  and 
for  the  opportunity  to  improve  it  by  the  intellectual  advances 
which  have  accompanied  the  production  of  modern  comforts 
and  luxuries,  are,  more  than  any  other,  Hero  of  Alexandria, 
and  his  contemporary,  possibly,  Archimedes ;  Papiu,  the  Mar- 
quis of  Worcester,  Captain  Savery  and  Newcomen,  and  most 
of  all,  James  Watt.  Let  us  inquire  who  were  these  men  and 
what  their  surroundings,  and  how  they  brought  about  the 
marvelous  changes  that  the  octogenarian  of  to-day  has  become 
familiar  with  as  the  outcome  of  their  combined  efforts. 

Hero  was  born  amid  the  Greeks  at  perhaps  the  most  interest- 
ing period  of  their  history,  philosophically  considered.  The 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  261 

biography  of  Alexander,  the  history  of  the  wars  of  the  Greeks, 
have  little  importance  or  interest  in  comparison  with  the  life  of 
the  earliest  engineer,  permanently  recording  the  invention  of 
the  steam  engine,  and  the  history  of  the  intellectual  awaken- 
ing that  marked  his  time.  Hero's  "  Pneumatica"  is  the  first 
record  of  invention.  It  only  gives  us  a  definite  idea  of  the 
extent  to  which  the  people  of  that  day  were  familiar  with  the 
possible  application  of  the  forces  of  nature  to  the  uses  and 
purposes  of  mankind.  The  account  is  as  simple  and  ingenuous 
as  the  devices  themselves  are  simple  and  undeveloped.  It  is 
the  description  of  toys  to  which  interest  attaches  only  because 
of  their  revelation  of  the  condition  of  ancient  useful  arts  and  of 
the  fact  that  they  constitute  the  germ  of  mighty  inventions  of 
of  later  date.  But  Hero  lived  at  a  time  when  great  inventions 
were  not  appreciated,  were  not  even  thought  of  as  having  pos- 
sible value  in  application  to  the  ameloriation  of  the  condition 
of  humanity,  and  were  quite  impossible  of  construction,  if  ever 
so  much  desired,  because  of  the  fact  that  no  machinery  for  their 
construction  could  then  be  had.  So  it  happened  that  the  toy 
steam  engine,  curiously  enough  a  very  perfect  type  of  steam 
engine  scientifically  considered,  lay  unused,  a  germ  only,  like 
the  grain  of  wheat  in  the  hand  of  the  mummy,  for  two  thousand 
years,  finally  to  take  a  new  life  of  wonderful  works. 

Now  and  then  one  of  the  old  philosophers  hit,  by  some  happy 
accident  in  the  course  of  his  speculations,  upon  some  notion  of 
the  nature  of  heat  and  energy  which  was  not  far  from  what  we 
now  know  to  be  true.  But  we  also  have  seen  that  then  it  was 
the  fact,  as  Democritus  remarked  to  the  old  philosopher : 
"  Nothing  is  true;  or,  if  so,  is  certain."  Knowledge  had  in 
ancient  times  no  stability  ;  and  science,  in  the  modern  sense  of 
the  term,  had  no  existence.  But  it  was  otherwise  in  the  do- 
main of  application,  and  the  work  of  the  ancient  artisan  and 
the  development  of  the  mechanic  arts  among  the  old  Greeks 
and  Romans  and  their  predecessors  of  India,  Persia  and  Egypt 
command  our  respect  and  admiration.  When  the  lack  of  facil- 
ities possessed  by  the  older  nations  is  considered,  their  success 
in  the  construction  of  their  temples,  in  the  erection  of  the  pyra- 
mids, in  their  naval  architecture,  is  to  the  modern  engineer 
almost  as  impressive  as  would  many  of  our  grandest  achieve- 


262  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

ments  be  to  them  could  they  return  to  earth  and  study  the 
progress  made  since  their  own  times.  No  more  beautiful  edi- 
fices are  built  to-day  than  existed  in  the  times  of  ancient  civ- 
ilizations ;  no  modern  workman  can  excel  in  the  perfection  of 
his  joints  and  surfaces  those  observed,  still  hardly  defaced  by 
the  centuries,  in  the  great  pyramid  and  its  neighbors  ;  the  lines 
of  the  ancient  war  galleys,  and  of  the  Scandinavian  craft,  even 
of  the  earlier  periods,  were  as  fine  as  those  of  the  finest  yachts 
of  our  own  day.  The  ancestors  of  the  ancient  philosophers 
honored  the  artisan,  and  their  gods  were  the  idolized  hero- 
mechanics  of  earlier  times.  Labor  was  rewarded  by  the  great- 
est honors  that  the  nation  could  confer.  It  was  not  surprising, 
therefore,  that  some  advances  were  made,  in  even  those  ruder 
times,  in  the  mechanic  arts. 

The  reasoning  of  the  old  philosopher,  Hero,  in  regard  to  the 
physical  phenomena  involved  in  the  operation  of  his  machines 
is  interesting,  as  illustrating  the  state  of  the  science  in  his  time. 
He  introduces  the  description  of  the  apparatus  which  has  been 
described  by  a  treatise  on  the  nature  of  air  and  the  character  of 
the  vacuum.  He  shows  that  vessels  which  seem  empty  are  in 
reality  full  of  air,  and  proves  his  assertion  by  the  following 
considerations  and  crucial  test :  ' '  Let  the  vessel  which  seems 
to  be  empty  be  inverted  into  the  water.  It  will  be  seen  that  it 
will  not  admit  the  water,  although  it  may  appear  perfectly 
vacuous.  If  a  hole  be  bored  in  the  reversed  bottom  of  the  ves- 
sel air  will  issue,  and  the  water  will  then  enter. "  ' '  Hence  it 
must  be  assumed  that  the  air  is  matter."  Further  :  ' '  If  a  light 
vessel  with  a  narrow  mouth  be  applied  to  the  lips,  and  the  air 
be  sucked  out  and  discharged,  the  vessel  will  be  suspended 
from  the  lips,  the  vacuum  drawing  the  flesh  toward  it  that  the 
exhausted  space  may  be  filled.  It  is  manifest  from  this  that 
there  was  a  continuous  vacuum  in  the  vessel."  Cupping 
glasses,  which  were  then  already  known  and  in  common  use, 
were  cited  as  illustrations  of  a  similar  operation,  the  fire  placed 
in  them  rarifying  the  air,  and  the  vacuum  being  thus  produced. 
"Winds  are  produced  by  excessive  exhalation,  whereby  the 
air  is  disturbed  and  rarified,  and  sets  in  motion  the  air  in  im- 
mediate contact  with  it."  "It  may  therefore  be  affirmed  that 
every  body  is  composed  of  minute  particles,  between  which  are 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  263 

empty  spaces  less  than  the  particles  of  the  body  (so  that  we 
erroneously  say  that  there  is  no  vacuum  except  by  the  appli- 
cation of  force,  and  that  every  place  is  full  of  ether,  air,  or 
water,  or  some  other  substance),  and  in  proportion  as  any  one 
of  these  particles  recedes,  some  other  follows  it  and  fill  the  va- 
cant space ;  so  that  there  is  no  continuous  vacuum  except 
on  the  application  of  some  force  ;  and  again  the  absolute  vacuum 
is  never  found,  but  is  produced  artificially."  "These  things 
being  clearly  explained, ' '  the  author  goes  on  to  consider  the 
methods  devised  for  the  application  of  these  principles  to  his 
purposes. 

The  fact  that  none  of  these  contrivances  were,  so  far  as  the 
records  show,  applied  to  the  promotion  of  the  useful  arts  in 
the  sense  in  which  that  application  has  taken  place  in  modern 
times  and  has  thus  so  wonderfully  accelerated  the  advance  of 
civilization,  is  probably  an  indication  that  the  non-utilitarian 
spirit  of  the  Platonic  philosophy,  and  of  the  whole  learned 
Greek  world,  indeed,  pervaded  the  ranks  of  the  people  too 
thoroughly  to  permit  them  to  profit  to  any  great  extent  by  the 
inventions  of  their  great  mechanicians  ;  who,  indeed,  seem  to 
have  been  inclined  much  more  to  the  gymnastic  than  to  the 
useful  employment  of  their  talents. 

This  inclination  to  the  display  of  ingenuity  rather  than 
promotion  of  useful  arts  was  transmitted  to  the  Romans  also, 
and  the  only  account  extant  of  such  illustrations  of  the  in- 
ventive power  of  that  nation  are  those  relating  to  contrivances 
of  machinery  of  war  and  such  curious  applications  of  the  genius 
of  the  inventor  as  may  have  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
classes  of  leisure  and  those  engaged  in  scholarly  pursuits. 
Perhaps  the  only  well-known  example  of  such  ingenious  per- 
version of  what  might  have  been  useful  powers  is  the  follow- 
ing, given  us  by  Gibbon  in  his  "  Decline  and  Fall  of  the 
Roman  Empire" — 

"  In  a  trifling  dispute  between  Anthemius,  the  architect  of 
Justinian,  and  Zeno,  the  orator,  relative  to  the  wells  or  windows 
of  their  contiguous  houses,  Anthemius  had  been  vanquished 
by  the  eloquence  of  his  neighbor  Zeno  ;  but  the  orator  was  de- 
feated in  his  turn  by  the  master  of  mechanics.  In  a  lower  room, 
Anthemius  ranged  several  vessels  or  caldrons  of  water,  each 


264  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

of  them  covered  by  the  wide  bottom  of  a  flexible  tube,  which 
rose  to  a  narrow  top,  and  was  artificiality  conveyed  among  the 
joists  and  rafters  of  the  adjacent  building.  A  fire  was  kindled 
beneath  the  caldrons  ;  the  steam  of  the  boiling  water  ascended 
through  the  tubes  ;  the  house  was  shaken  by  the  effect  of  the 
imprisoned  air,  and  its  trembling  inhabitants  might  well  wonder 
that  the  city  was  unconscious  of  an  earthquake  that  they  had 
felt ;  and  the  orator  declared,  in  tragic  style,  to  the  Senate, 
that  a  mere  mortal  must  yield  to  the  power  of  an  antagonist 
who  shook  the  earth  with  the  trident  of  Neptune." 

What  has  been  referred  to  comprises  nearly  all  that  is  known, 
and  probably  about  all  that  the  ancients  themselves  knew,  of 
the  work  of  their  greatest  engineers  and  philosophers  in  the 
field  here  explored.  Centuries  of  strife  and  hardly-ever  ceas- 
ing wars  followed  the  fall  of  the  Roman  empire,  and  the  arts 
of  peace  suffered  retardation,  rather  than  advanced.  There 
was,  however,  an  undertow  of  movement  among  the  more 
scholarly  and  the  more  industrious  peoples  ;  and  the  transfer  of 
the  learning  of  the  ancients  to  the  modern  times  through  the 
Saracen  dominion  and  the  progress  made  by  the  pagans  of  the 
middle  ages,  were  the  means  of  preserving  the  seed  of  that 
later  and  wonderfully  grand  outgrowth  which  has  distinguished 
the  three  centuries  now  coming  to  a  close.  During  this  period, 
also,  the  Church  which  was  always  the  anchor  of  scholarship, 
though  often  the  direst  foe  to  science,  of  real  knowledge  of  the 
Creator  through  his  works,  not  only  organized  its  own  ma- 
teriel and  personnel  into  a  most  effective  working  apparatus 
for  the  promulgation  of  its  tenets,  but  also  provided  a  sys- 
tem of  education,  and  a  working  educational  organization, 
that,  once  it  was  permitted,  by  that  freedom  of  personal 
thought  which  came  of  the  Reformation,  to  seek  knowledge 
in  every  field  and  to  accept  the  logical  results  of  every  investi- 
gation in  science  and  in  morals,  became  the  most  effective  pos- 
sible means  of  promoting  true  learning.  While  therefore,  the 
middle  ages  seemed  to  be  a  period  of  intermitted  growth  in  all 
but  the  sience  and  art  of  war,  it  was  realy  a  time  of  readjust- 
ment, of  rearrangement,  of  the  various  classes  of  Europe,  and 
was  preparatory  to  such  a  movement  of  the  great  underlying 
forces  as  should  finally  give  opportunity  for  the  most  rapid 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  265 

progress,  once  that  progress  should  begin  on  the  new  lines  and 
in  the  new  ways  that  distinguished  the  later  period  of  onward 
motion  of  the  great  current. 

A  more  complete  idea  of  the  extent  to  which  the  inventive 
talent  of  the  ancients  was  fruitful  of  result  in  practically  use- 
ful directions  may  be  gained  by  studying,  in  addition  to  the 
accounts  of  Hero  and  others  of  such  curious  devices  as  have 
just  been  described,  those  of  other  authors  telling  of  the 
various  apparatus  of  war,  and  for  naval  purposes,  which  were 
invented  by  the  engineers  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  armies 
and  navies.  Works  on  Greek  and  Roman  antiquities  describe 
the  ranis  used  for  battering  down  the  gates  and  walls  of  be- 
leaguered cities,  some  of  them  a  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
long,  and  weighing  thousands  of  pounds,  many  tons ;  in  fact, 
so  large  that  it  required  three  hundred  pairs  of  horses  or  mules 
to  draw  them,  and  fifteen  hundred  men  to  operate  them  when 
mounted  ready  for  the  attack.  They  were  great  beams  of 
wood,  sheathed  with  iron,  and,  often,  covered  by  an  arrow, 
and  perhaps  bomb-proof  house  which  protected  the  soldiers 
while  working  the  ram.  Their  engineers  constructed  towers, 
called  sometimes,  helepoleis,  or  city-takers,  which,  according  to 
Vitruvius,  were  ninety  feet  high,  in  ten  stories,  and  twenty-five 
feet  square  at  the  base,  as  a  minimum  ;  while  the  largest  were 
a  hundred  and  eighty  feet  high,  in  twenty  stories,  and  thirty- 
four  feet  square  at  the  bottom.  They  were  mounted  on 
wheels,  and  from  them,  when  advanced  to  the  spot  from  which 
the  enemy  was  to  be  attacked,  engines  contrived  for  the  pur- 
pose threw  stones  and  other  missiles  into  the  city  and  upon  its 
walls.  Machines  for  throwing  arrows  and  stones  were  fre- 
quently employed,  and  were  often  of  enormous  size  and  power. 
Similar  engines  were  built  to  mount  upon  their  ships  ;  while 
the  vessel  itself  was  converted  into  an  engine  of  tremendous 
power  by  arming  its  bow  with  a  beak,  or  "ram,"  and  using 
the  craft  precisely  as  the  iron-clad  "ram"  is  employed  in 
modern  naval  combats.  Indeed,  the  submerged  ram  now 
universally  adopted  for  such  vessels  was  the  invention  of 
Aristo,  the  Corinthian,  and  was  itself  an  improvement  upon 
other  forms  of  ram-bow,  long  before  in  use. 


266  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

The  ancients  were  evidently  not  deficient  in  ingenuity,  in  a 
talent  which  is  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  our  time 
and  people;  but  in  mechanics,  as  in  philosophy,  their  tendency 
was  always  toward  the  consideration  of  the  ideal  and  the 
imaginative,  rather  than  toward  the  useful  and  directly  help- 
ful in  practical  directions.  Philosophers  and  mechanicians, 
scholars  and  artisans,  alike,  admired  the  ingenious  and  specu- 
lative, rather  than  the  productive  and  the  practical.  They 
had  departed  from  the  primitive  ideas  of  their  progenitors  to 
whom  they  owed  their  theology  and  who  had  named  their 
gods.  They  had  come  to  a  period  in  the  development  of  their 
society  which  must  necessarily  result  in  a  cessation  of  ad- 
vancement, and  a  stationary  era  in  their  civilization. 

The  age  of  the  dreamer  is  the  period  of  rest  preliminary  to 
stagnation  or  even  retrogression.  The  ancient  civilization,  so 
called,  was  the  culmination  of  an  earlier  movement  of  which 
history  only  exhibits  to  us  the  later  stages,  and  which  was  the 
prelude  to  a  relaxation,  in  turn  the  preliminary  to  another 
advance.  So  it  happens  that  the  mechanic  arts  and  their 
grandest  achievments,  as  illustrated  by  the  engineer  of  to-day, 
of  the  man  who,  combining  intelligence  with  learning,  scien- 
tific attainments  with  the  power  of  practical  accomplishment, 
meets  every  demand  of  the  age,  whether  for  a  railroad  or  a 
steamship,  a  telegraph  line  or  an  electric-lighting  establish- 
ment, could  no  more  have  been  the  outcome  of  ancient  ideas 
and  of  ancient  methods  than  could  the  old  philosophers  have 
given  rise  to  modern  science.  The  profession  of  engineering, 
like  that  of  the  physicist  or  of  the  chemist,  is  thus  essentially  a 
product  of  recent  phases  of  civilization.  They  are  all  as  much 
the  product  of  the  inductive  methods  as  are  the  sciences  them- 
selves. The  systematic  collection  of  knowledge,  the  system- 
atic arrangement  of  the  phenomena  and  facts  of  nature  into 
sciences,  the  systematic  promotion  and  dissemination  of  learn- 
ing, modern  systematic  education,  have  set  the  world  in 
motion  and  with  an  accelerating  velocity,  and  the  modern 
methods  of  thought,  in  all  departments  of  knowledge,  of 
research  in  all  branches  of  learning,  of  education,  general  and 
liberal,  technical  and  professional,  have  produced  a  new  heaven 
and  a  new  earth  for  mankind. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  267 

Thus  as  remarked  by  Prof.  Youmans*  :  ' '  In  the  history  of 
human  affairs  there  is  a  growing  conception  of  the  action  of  gen- 
eral causes  in  the  production  of  events,  and  a  corresponding 
conviction  that  the  part  played  by  individuals  has  been  much 
exaggerated,  and  is  far  less  controlling  and  permanent  than  has 
been  hitherto  supposed.  So,  also,  in  the  history  of  science  it 
is  now  acknowledged  that  the  progress  of  discovery  is  much 
more  independent  of  the  labors  of  particular  persons  than  has 
been  formerly  admitted.  Great  discoveries  belong  not  so  much 
to  individuals  as  to  humanity ;  they  are  less  inspirations  of 
genius  than  births  of  eras.  As  there  has  »been  a  definite  intel- 
lectual progress,  thought  has  necessarily  been  limited  to  the 
subjects  successively  reached.  Many  minds  have  been  thus 
occupied  at  the  same  time  with  similar  ideas,  and  hence  the 
simultaneous  discoveries  of  independent  inquirers,  of  which 
the  history  of  science  is  so  full." 

Writing  of  the  extraordinary  importance  of  the  discoveries 
and  researches  which,  in  the  nineteenth  century,  closed  this 
wonderful  progress,  Dr.  Youmans  says  : 

"An  eminent  authority  has  remarked  that  '  these  discoveries 
open  a  region  which  promises  possessions  richer  than  any 
hitherto  granted  to  the  intellect  of  man.'  Involving,  as  they 
do,  a  revolution  of  fundamental  ideas,  their  consequences  must 
be  as  comprehensive  as  the  range  of  human  thought.  A 
principle  has  been  developed  of  all-pervading  application, 
which  brings  the  diverse  and  distant  branches  of  knowledge 
into  more  intimate  and  harmonious  alliance,  and  affords  a 
profounder  insight  into  the  universal  order. ' ' 

But  the  consequences  of  the  establishment  of  the  identity 
of  heat  and  motion,  and  of  the  fact  that  the  various  forms  of 
energy  produced  by  the  various  methods  of  motion  of  matter, 
were,  if  possible,  even  more  important  than  were  the  facts  just 
outlined.  Once  it  was  perceived  that  heat  and  light  were 
forms  of  motion  and  energy,  it  became  promptly  seen  that 
electricity  was  also  a  similar  phenomenon,  and  the  question 
arose  whether  the  vital  forces,  and  all  other  observed  phe- 
nomena distinctive  of  the  production  of  movement  and  the 
performance  of  work,  in  whatever  department  of  nature,  might 
*  Correlation  of  Forces ;  N.  Y.:  D.  Appleton  &  Co. 


268  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

not  be  also  similarly  related,  each  to  all  the  others.  The 
doctrines  of  the  Correlation  and  of  the  Conservation  or  Persist- 
ence of  Forces  and  of  Bnergies,  as  these  principles  have  come 
to  be  called,  were  soon  seen  to  be  the  foundation  of  all  natural 
science,  and  to  bind  all  the  sciences  into  one  common  and 
closely  related  system  of  laws,  into  a  science  called  by  Rankine, 
"  Knergetics." 

Papin,  Worcester,  Savery  were  the  authors  of  the  period  of 
application  of  the  power  of  steam  to  useful  work  in  our  later 
days.  The  world  was,  in  their  time,  just  waking  into  a  new 
life  under  the  stimulus  of  a  new  freedom  that,  from  the  time  of 
Shakespeare,  of  Newton,  and  of  Gilbert,  the  physicist,  has 
steadily  become  wider,  higher,  and  more  fruitful  year  by  year. 
All  the  modern  sciences  and  all  the  modern  arts  had  their  re- 
awakening with  the  seventeenth  century.  Every  aspect  of  free- 
dom for  humanity  came  into  view  in  those  days  of  a  new  birth. 
Both  the  possibility  of  the  introduction  of  new  sciences  and  of 
new  arts  and  the  power  of  utilizing  all  new  intellectual  and 
physical  forces  came  together.  The  steam  engine  could  not 
earlier  have  taken  form ;  and,  taking  form,  it  could  not  have 
promoted  the  advance  of  civilization  in  the  earlier  centuries. 
The  invention  becoming  possible  of  development  and  applica- 
tion, the  promotion  of  the  arts  and  of  all  forms  of  human  activ- 
ity became  a  possible  consequence  of  its  finally  successful  intro- 
duction into  the  rude  arts  that  it  was  to  so  effectively  promote 
and  improve. 

But  the  work  of  these  inventors  was  in  itself  but  little  more 
important  than  that  of  the  Greek  inventor  of  the  steam  aeolipile, 
for  each  brought  forward  a  machine  which  was,  from  a  business 
point  of  view,  utterly  impractable,  and  which,  in  each  case, 
only  served  to  show  that  a  better  device  might  prove  useful  and 
to  lead  the  way  to  its  introduction.  The  merit  of  the  inventors  of 
the  eighteenth  century  was  that  they  were  able  to  lead  the  way, 
to  point  out  the  path  to  success,  to  furnish  evidence  of  the  value 
of  the  coming,  crowning  invention.  The  "fire  engines,"  as 
they  were  then  called,  of  these  now  famous  men,  were  merely 
contrivances  by  the  use  of  which  the  pressure  of  confined 
steam  of  high  tension  could  be  brought  to  act  on  the  surface 
of  a  mass  of  confined  water,  forcing  it  downward  into  pipes 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  269 

through  which  it  was  led  off  and  upward  to  a  higher  level ;  and 
thus  a  mine  could  be  drained,  ineffectively  and  expensively,  to 
be  sure,  but  vastly  more  satisfactorily  than  by  the  animal  power 
of  the  time.  The  machine  of  Savery  was  the  best  of  all  ;  but 
that  was  only  a  somewhat  improved  and  manageable  rearrange- 
ment of  the  engines  of  Papin  and  Worcester.  And,  after  all, 
Papin,  the  greatest  man  of  science,  perhaps,  of  his  time,  died  in 
poverty  ;  Worcester  languished  in  prison,  and  his  whole  life  and 
the  later  efforts  of  his  widow  brought  nothing  by  way  of  a  re- 
turn for  his  invention  ;  nor  did  either  they  or  their  successor, 
Morland,  make  the  introduction  of  the  engine  either  general  or 
remunerative.  Savery,  coming  on  the  stage  at  more  nearly  the 
right  time  to  seize  upon  the  opportunity,  gained  more  than 
either  of  his  predecessors ;  but  we  have  no  evidence  that  he 
ever  acquired  any  large  compensation  or  met  with  any  remark- 
able business  success  in  the  introduction  of  the  rude  engine 
which  bore  his  name,  nor  did  Desaguliers,  the  great  philos- 
opher, or  even  Smeaton,  the  great  engineer  of  the  later  years 
of  that  century,  make  any  great  success  of  it.  It  was  reserve'd 
for  Watt  to  reap  the  harvest.  But,  though  he  so  effectively 
reaped  where  his  predecessors  had  sown,  Watt  is  not  the 
greatest  of  the  inventors  of  the  steam  engine,  if  we  rate  his 
standing  by  the  magnitude  of  the  improvement  which  marked 
his  reconstruction  of  the  engine.  It  was  Newcomen  who  made 
the  modern  steam  engine. 

When  Newcomen  came  forward  the  labors  of  Worcester,  in 
Great  Britain,  had  sufficed  to  attract  the  attention  of  all  intel- 
ligent men  to  the  character  of  the  problem  to  be  solved  and  to 
convince  them  of  its  importance  and  promise.  The  work  of 
Savery  had  shown  the  practicability  of  the  solution  of  the 
problem,  both  in  mechanics  and  finance.  He  succeeded, 
though  under  great  disadvantages  and  comparatively  inef- 
ficiently. Once  the  task  had  been  performed,  though  ever  so 
rudely,  the  rest  came  easily  and  promptly.  The  defects  of  the 
Savery  system  were  at  once  recognized  ;  its  great  wastes  of 
heat  and  of  steam  were  noted,  and  the  fact  that  they  were 
inherent  in  the  system  itself  was  perceived.  A  complete 
change  of  type  of  machine  was  obviously  requisite.  It  was 
this  which  constituted  the  greatest  invention  in  the  whole 


270  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

history  of  the  steam  engine,  from  Hero's  time  to  our  own  ;  and 
to  Newcomen  we  owe  more  than  to  any  other  man  who  ever 
lived,  the  value  of  the  invention  itself  being  considered  and 
the  importance  of  the  services  of  its  introducer  being  left  out 
of  consideration.  No  such  complete  and  vital  improvement 
and  modification  of  the  machine  has  ever  been  effected  by  any 
other  man,  Watt  and  Corliss  not  excepted.  Newcomen  and 
his  comrade,  Galley — we  do  not  know  how  the  honors  should 
be  divided — produced  the  modern  steam  engine.  Its  prede- 
cessor, the  Savery  engine,  had  been  a  mere  steam  "squirt;" 
Newcomen  constructed  an  engine.  Savery  built  a  simple  com- 
bination of  cylindrical  or  ellipsoidal  vessels  which  wastefully 
and  at  once  performed  all  the  several  offices  of  engine,  pump, 
condenser  and  boiler.  Newcomen  divided  these  several  ele- 
ments among  as  many  parts,  each  especially  adapted  to  the 
performance  of  its  task  in  the  most  effective  manner,  the  con- 
denser excepted,  for  that  was  Watt's  principal  invention,  and 
thus  produced  the  first  steam  engine  in  the  modern  sense  of 
that  term.  It  was  Newcomen,  not  Watt,  who  gave  us  the 
train  of  mechanism  that  we  now  call  the  steam  engine.  It  is 
to  Newcomen,  rather  than  Watt,  that  we  owe  the  highest 
honors  as  an  inventor  in  this  series  of  the  most  important  of  all 
the  products  of  the  inventive  genius  of  mankind.  Newcomen 
brought  into  existence  a  new,  the  modern,  type  of  engine,  and 
effected  the  greatest  revolution  that  has  been  recorded  in  the 
history  of  the  arts.  Without  Newcomen  there  might  have 
been  no  Watt ;  without  Watt  there  very  possibly  may  not  even 
•  yet  have  been  brought  into  existence  that  giant  of  our  time, 
whose  mighty  powers  are  employed  more  effectively  than  ever 
those  of  Alladin's  genii  in  building  palaces,  in  transporting 
men  and  material,  in  doing  the  work  of  the  whole  world  ; 
promoting  the  welfare  of  the  race  in  a  single  century  more 
than  had  all  the  forces  of  matter  and  mind  together  in  the 
whole  previous  history  of  the  world.  Newcomen  laid  down  a 
foundation  beneath  our  whole  economic  system,  out  of  sight 
almost,  but  the  essential  base  nevertheless  on  which  Watt  and 
his  successors  have  carried  up  the  great  superstructure  which 
seems  to  us  to-day  so  imposing,  which  is  so  tremendous  in 
magnitude,  importance  and  result.  If  to  any  one  man  could 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   CONGRESS.  271 

be  assigned  the  credit,  it  is  Newcomen  who  is  to  be  considered 
the  inventor  of  the  steam  engine. 

James  Watt,  indisputably  the  great  inventor  that  he  was, 
found  the  steam  engine  ready  to  his  hand  ;  applied  himself  to 
its  improvement,  and  made  it  substantially  what  it  is  to-day. 
His  most  important  work,  the  most  unique  service  performed 
by  him  was,  however,  that  of  its  adaptation  and  introduction 
to  do  the  work  of  the  world.  James  Watt  was  the  inaugurator 
of  the  era  of  refinement  of  the  machine,  already  invented,  and 
the  greatest  of  its  builders  and  distributors.  His  inventions 
were  all  directed  to  the  improvement  of  its  details,  and  his 
labors  to  its  introduction  and  its  application  to  the  myriad 
tasks  awaiting  it.  By  the  hands  of  Watt  it  was  made  to  pump 
water,  to  spin,  to  weave,  to  drive  every  mill ;  and  he  it  was 
who  gave  it  the  form  demanded  by  Stephenson,  by  Fulton,  by 
the  whole  industrial  world,  for  use  on  railway  and  steamboat, 
and  in  mill  and  factory  throughout  the  civilized  countries  of 
the  globe.  It  was  this  great  mechanic  who  showed  how  it 
might  be  made  to  do  its  work  with  least  expense,  with  highest 
efficiency,  with  greatest  regularity,  with  utmost  concentration 
of  power. 

The  grand  secret  of  his  success  was  historical  and  economic 
as  much  as  scientific  and  mechanical.  He  brought  out  his  in- 
ventions just  when  the  world  was  economically  and  historically 
ready  for  them.  The  age  of  authority  was  past  ;  that  of  free- 
dom was  come  ;  the  period  of  political  and  ecclesiastical  tyranny 
was  gone  by,  and  that  of  the  spontaneous  development  of  man 
was  arrived.  The  great  invention  was  offered  to  a  world  ready 
and  needing  it,  and,  more  than  all,  competent,  for  the  first  time 
in  history,  to  make  and  use  it. 

James  Watt  was  himself  a  product  of  the  modern  scientific 
spirit.  He  was  a  man  so  constituted,  mentally,  that  he  could 
apply  scientific  methods  to  problems  which  his  logical  and 
clairvoyant  mind  could  readily  and  exactly  formulate  the  in- 
stant he  was  led  to  their  consideration  in  the  natural  course  of 
his  progress.  He  was  the  ideal  great  inventor  and  mechanic. 
With  inventive  genius  he  combined  strong  common  sense — not 
always  a  quality  distinguishing  the  inventor — clear  perception, 
breadth  of  view,  and  scientific  method  and  spirit  in  the  treat- 


272  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE  CONGRESS. 

ment  of  every  question.  His  natural  talent  was  reinforced  by 
an  experience  and  an  environment  which  led  him  to  develop 
these  ways  and  this  mental  habit.  His  trade  was  that  of  an 
instrument-maker  ;  his  position  was  that  of  custodian  and  re- 
pairer of  the  apparatus  of  Glasgow  University.  He  had  for 
his  daily  companions  and  stimulus  the  great  men  and  ozonized 
atmosphere  of  that  famous  institution.  He  kept  pace  with 
advancing  science,  and  was  imbued,  both  naturally  and  through 
contact  with  its  promoters,  with  that  ambition  and  those  aspi- 
rations which  are  the  life-element  of  all  progress,  whether  sci- 
entific or  other.  He  was  aware  of  the  nature  of  the  problems 
seeking  solution  at  the  time,  and  familiar  with  the  state  of  his 
own  art  and  that  of  the  great  mechanicians  about  him.  Every- 
thing was  favorable  to  his  progress,  so  soon  as  he  should  be 
given  an  opportunity  to  take  a  step  in  advance  and  to  come 
into  sight  at  the  front.  The  man  and  the  time  were  both  ready, 
and  all  conditions,  internal  and  external,  social  and  personal, 
were  favorable  to  his  development. 

The  invention  upon  which  Watt  was  to  improve  was  at  his 
hand.  A  word  in  regard  to  its  status  at  the  moment  will 
throw  some  light  upon  that  of  Watt  and  his  creation.  New- 
comen  had,  as  we  have  seen,  produced  the  modern  type  of 
steam  engine  as  an  original  and  wholly  novel  invention.  But 
this  machine,  marvelous  as  an  advance  upon  pre-existing  forms 
of  the  steam  engine,  was  still,  as  seen  in  the  light  of  recent 
knowledge  and  experience,  exceedingly  defective.  The  pur- 
pose of  a  steam  engine  is  to  convert  into  usefully  applicable 
power  the  hidden  energy  of  fuel,  stored  ages  ago  in  the  earth 
by  transformation  through  the  action  of  vegetation  from  the 
original  form,  the  heat  of  the  sun,  into  an  available  form  for  re- 
conversion through  thermodynamic  operations.  In  this  pro- 
cess of  reconversion,  whatever  the  nature  of  the  machine  used 
in  the  operation,  there  are  invariably  wastes,  both  of  heat  re- 
quired for  conversion  into  power  and  of  the  power  thus  pro- 
duced. That  machine  which  effects  the  most  complete  trans- 
formation of  the  heat  supplied  it  into  mechanical  power,  which 
wastes  the  least  amount  of  heat  supplied  and  of  power  pro- 
duced, is  the  best  engine,  and  constitutes  an  advance  over  every 
other. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  273 

It  was  this  reduction  of  wastes  that  made  the  Newcomen  en- 
gine so  much  superior  to  that  of  Savery.  The  latter  was  by 
far  the  simpler  and  less  costly  construction  ;  but  its  enormous 
losses,  both  of  heat  and  power,  mainly  the  former,  however, 
made  it  an  extravagant  expenditure  of  money  to  buy  and  use 
it.  The  Newcomen  engine,  costly  and  cumbrous,  compara- 
tively, nevertheless  wasted  so  much  less  heat  and  steam  and 
fuel  that  no  one  could  afford  to  buy  the  cheaper  machine. 
Before  considering  what  Watt  accomplished  we  may  find  it 
profitable  to  examine  into  the  nature  of  the  wastes  which  char- 
acterized this  later  and  better  machine  on  which  he  effected  his 
improvements. 

The  Newcomen  engine  consisted  of  a  steam  boiler,  a  steam 
cylinder,  a  beam,  and  a  set  of  pumps.  By  making  the  boiler 
do  its  work  separately,  the  engine  acting  independently,  and 
the  pumps  as  a  detached  portion  of  the  mechanism,  this  inven- 
tor had  reduced  to  an  enormous  extent  those  wastes  of  heat 
and  of  steam  and  of  fuel,  which  were  unavoidable  in  the  older 
machines  in  which  all  these  parts  were  represented  by  a  single 
vessel,  or  by  two  at  most,  in  each  element.  In  the  Savery  en- 
gine, the  steam  entering  first  heated  up  the  interior  of  the 
working  vessel  to  its  own  temperature,  and  held  it  at  that 
temperature  in  spite  of  the  cooling  influence  of  the  water  pres- 
ent. This  consumed  large  quantities  of  heat.  It  then  was 
compelled  to  surrender  probably  much  greater  quantities  still 
to  the  water  itself,  coming  into  direct  contact,  as  it  did,  with 
its  surface.  If  the  water  was  agitated,  either  by  the  currents 
produced  during  its  ingress  or  by  the  impact  of  the  steam  enter- 
ing the  vessel,  this  heating  action  penetrated  to  considerable 
depths,  and  perhaps  even  warmed  the  whole  mass  very  far 
above  its  initial  temperature.  This  constituted  another  and  a 
very  serious  loss.  Then,  again,  as  the  water  was  gradually 
driven  out  of  the  containing  vessel  by  the  steam  pressing  on  its 
surface,  new  portions  of  the  vessel  and  new  masses  of  water 
were  continually  brought  in  contact  with  the  hot  steam,  taking 
its  full  temperature,  and  thus  often  probably  finally  heating 
the  whole  mass  of  the  forcing  vessel,  and  a  large  proportion  of 
the  water  as  well,  up  to  the  temperature,  approximately,  at  least, 
of  the  steam  itself.  Thus  in  many  instances,  if  not  always, 


274  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

vastly  more  heat  and  steam  were  wasted  in  this  undesirable 
heating  of  water  and  forcing  vessel  than  were  usefully  em- 
ployed in  the  legitimate  work  of  raising  the  water  to  a  higher 
level.  In  fact,  in  some  cases  in  which  these  quantities  were 
measured,  the  wastes  were  one  hundred  times  as  much  as  the 
work  done.  One  per  cent,  of  the  heat  supplied  did  the  work, 
while  ninety-nine  per  cent,  was  thrown  away.  One  dollar  or 
one  shilling  expended  for  fuel  to  do  the  work  was  accompanied 
by  an  expenditure  of  ninety-nine  dollars  or  shillings  thrown 
away,  because  of  the  imperfections  of  the  system  and  machine. 
The  whole  history  of  the  development  of  the  steam  engine  has 
been  one  of  gradual  reduction  of  these  wastes,  until  to-day  our 
best  engines  only  compel  us  to  spend  five  dollars  for  wastes  to 
each  dollar  paid  out  for  useful  work.  A  business  man  would 
think  that  amply  extravagant,  however,  and  the  man  of  science 
is  continually  seeking  methods  of  evading  these  losses,  a  large 
proportion  of  which  are  now  apparently  unavoidable  in  heat 
engines,  by  finding  some  new  system  of  heat  and  energy  trans- 
formation. 

Watt  was  the  instrument  maker  and  repairer  at  Glasgow 
University  in  the  year  1763.  His  companions  were,  among 
others,  the  professors  of  natural  philosophy  and  of  mathe- 
matics in  the  University.  Their  conversation  and  their  fre- 
quent presentation  of  practical  and  scientific  questions  and 
problems  stimulated  his  naturally  inquiring  and  inventive  mind 
to  the  pursuit  of  a  thousand  interesting  and  promising  schemes 
for  the  improvement  of  existing  methods  and  machinery.  Dr. 
Robinson,  then  a  student,  suggested  the  invention  of  a  steam- 
carriage  for  use  on  common  roads,  and  the  young  mechanician 
at  once  began  experiments  that,  resulting  in  nothing  at  the 
time,  were  nevertheless  continued  in  one  or  another  form  until 
all  modern  applications  of  steam  came  into  view.  Dr.  Black 
taught  Watt  chemistry,  then  a  newly-constructed  science,  and 
led  him  on  to  the  discovery  finally  made  by  them  independently 
of  the  fact  and  the  magnitude  of  the  latent  heat  of  steam,  the 
discovery  coming  of  a  series  of  scientifically  planned  and  accu- 
rately conducted  investigations,  such  as  the  man  of  science  of 
to-day  would  deem  creditable.  The  treatises  of  Deaguliers  and 
others  on  physics  gave  Watt  a  knowledge  of  that  domain  of 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  275 

natural  phenomena  which  stood  him  in  good  stead  later,  when 
he  attempted  to  apply  its  principles  to  the  reduction  of  the 
wastes  of  the  steam  engine. 

It  was  while  at  Glasgow  University,  working  under  such 
influences  and  in  such  an  atmosphere  of  intellectual  activity, 
that  the  accident  of  the  Newcomen  model  engine  needing 
repair  brought  to  the  mind  of  Watt  the  opportunity  which, 
availed  of  at  once,  made  him  famous  and  gave  the  world  its 
greatest  aid,  its  most  powerful  servant.  The  observing  mind 
of  the  great  mechanic  immediately  noted  its  defects,  sought 
their  causes,  found  their  remedy.  He  discovered  at  once  that 
the  quantity  of  steam  entering  the  cylinder  of  the  little  engine 
was  four  times  the  volume  of  the  cylinder  receiving  it ;  in  other 
words,  three-fourths  of  that  steam  must  be  condensed  immedi- 
ately on  entrance.  This  meant,  evidently,  that  only  one-fourth 
of  the  steam  supplied  was  utilized,  and  even  then  inefficiently, 
in  doing  its  work.  The  reason  of  this  was  as  easily  seen, 
immediately  the  fact  was  revealed.  As  Watt  himself  expressed 
it,  the  causes  of  this  loss,  causes  which  would  obviously  be 
exaggerated  in  a  small  engine,  were  :  "First ,  the  dissipation  of 
heat  by  the  cylinder  itself,  which  was  of  brass,  and  both  a  good 
conductor  and  a  good  radiator.  Secondly,  the  loss  of  heat 
consequent  upon  the  necessity  of  cooling  down  the  cylinder  at 
every  stroke  in  producing  the  vacuum.  Thirdly,  the  loss  of 
power  due  to  the  pressure  of  vapor  beneath  the  piston,  which 
was  a  consequence  of  the  imperfect  method  of  condensation." 
This  much  determined,  the  next  step  looked  toward  the  con- 
firmation of  his  conclusions  and  the  remedy  of  the  defects. 

To  meet  the  first  difficulty  he  made  a  cylinder  of  wood, 
soaked  in  oil  and  baked,  a  non-conducting  and  non-radiating 
material.  Then  he  was  able  to  determine  with  some  accuracy 
the  quantities  of  steam  and  injection  water  used  in  the  engine, 
and  a  comparison  with  the  original  cylinder,  and  its  operation 
showed  that  not  only  four  times  the  quantity  of  steam,  but  also 
four  times  the  amount  of  injection  water  was  used  as  was  neces- 
sary, assuming  wastes  checked.  Further  scientific  research  on 
the  part  of  Watt  gave  him  measures  of  specific  heats  of  the 
metals  and  of  wood,  the  specific  volumes  of  steam  at  various 
working  pressures,  the  evaporative  efficiency  of  boilers,  the 


276  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

pressures  and  temperatures  of  steam  in  the  boiler  under  speci- 
fied conditions,  the  quantities  of  steam  and  of  water  required  for 
the  operation  of  his  little  condensing  engine. 

Then  came  his  enunciation  of  the  grand  principle  of  econ- 
omy in  the  construction  and  operation  of  the  steam  engine  : 
''Keep  the  cylinder  as  hot  as  the  steam  which  enters  it,"  as 
he  expressed  it.  This  was  Watt's  guiding  principle,  as  it  has 
been  that  of  all  his  successors  in  the  improvement  of  economic 
performance  of  the  steam-engine  and  of  all  other  heat-engines. 
The  great  source  of  waste  is  the  dispersion  of  heat,  uselessly, 
which  should  be  applied  to  the  production  of  work  by  its 
transformation,  thermodynamically,  into  the  latter  form  of 
energy.  The  second  form  of  waste  is  that  of  power  thus  pro- 
duced in  the  unprofitable  work  of  moving  the  parts  of  the 
engine  itself,  and  the  third  is  that  of  heat  by  transfer,  without 
transformation,  by  conduction  and  radiation  to  surrounding 
bodies.  In  modern  engines,  the  latter  is  but  three  or  five  per 
cent. ,  in  the  best  cases ;  the  second  waste  constitutes  perhaps 
ten  per  cent;  while  the  first  of  these  losses  amounts  very 
usually  to  seventy  percent;  of  which  last  one-third  or  one- 
fourth  is  of  the  kind  discovered  by  Watt,  the  rest  being  the 
thermodynamic  waste  incident  to  all  known  methods  of  opera- 
tion of  heat-engines,  and  apparently  unavoidable.  In  our  very 
best  and  largest  engines,  the  wa>te  found  by  Watt  to  consti- 
tute three-fourths  of  all  heat  supplied  has  been  brought  down 
to  ten  per  cent.,  a  fact  which  well  exemplifies  the  advances 
made  since  his  time  of  apprenticeship  by  himself  and  his  suc- 
cessors of  this  nineteenth  century.  The  steam  engine  of  to-day, 
in  its  most  successful  operation,  gives  us  twenty-five  times  as 
much  power  from  a  pound  of  coal  as  did  the  engine  that  the 
great  in ventor  sought  to  improve.  This  is  the  magnificent 
fruit  of  that  one  discovery  of  James  Watt,  and  of  application 
of  the  simple  principle  which  he  so  concisely  and  clearly 
stated. 

The  method  adopted  by  Watt  to  secure  a  remedy,  so  far  as 
practicable,  of  this  deftct  of  the  older  machine  was  as  simple 
and  as  perfect  as  the  principle  which  it  embodied.  He  first  re- 
moved from  the  cylinder  the  prime  source  of  its  wastec  ;  pro- 
viding a  separate  condenser,  and  thus  avoiding  the  repeated 


PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE    CONGRESS.  277 

chilling  of  its  surfaces  by  the  cold  water  used  in  condensing 
the  steam  at  exhaust,  and  also  permitting  its  strokes  to  be 
made  with  far  greater  frequency,  thus  giving  less  time  for 
cooling  by  the  influence  of  the  remaining  vapors  after  con- 
densation. He  next  went  still  further  and  provided  the  cylin- 
der with  a  closed  top,  keeping  out  the  air,  and  a  "jacket" 
of  hot  boiler-steam  to  keep  it  as  hot  as  the  steam  which  entered 
it.  These  were  the  two  great  improvements  which  converted 
the  first  real  steam-engine  into  an  economical  form  of  heat- 
engine  and  essentially  finished  the  work  so  grandly  begun  by 
Newcomen  and  Galley.  These  changes  gave  us  the  modern 
steam-engine  ;  and  these  are  Watt's  first  and  greatest,  but  by 
no  means  only,  contributions  to  the  production  of  the  modern 
world  with  all  its  comforts,  it  luxuries,  and  its  opportunities 
for  material,  intellectual,  and  moral  advancement  of  individual 
and  of  race.  His  work  was  to  this  extent  complete  in  1765. 

But  Watt  did  not  stop  here.  There  still  remained  for  him 
the  no  less  important,  and  the  in  some  sense  still  more  impos- 
ing, work  of  finding  employment  for  the  new  servant  of  man- 
kind and  of  setting  it  at  its  work  of  giving  the  human  arm  a 
thousand  times  greater  strength,  to  the  mind  of  man  uncounted 
opportunities  to  promote  the  advancement  of  knowledge,  of 
civilization,  of  every  good  of  the  race.  His  was  still  the  task 
of  adapting  the  new  machine  to  all  the  purposes  of  modern  in- 
dustry. It  had  been  hitherto  confined  to  the  task  of  raising 
water  from  the  depths  of  the  mine  ;  it  was  now  to  be  harnessed 
to  the  railway  train  ;  to  be  made  to  drive  the  machinery  of  the 
mill,  to  apply  its  marvelous  power  to  the  impulsion  of  the  river 
boat  and  ocean  steamer ;  to  furnish  energy,  through  endless 
systems  of  transfer  and  use,  to  every  kind  of  work  that  man 
could  devise  and  should  invent.  All  this  meant  the  giving  of 
the  machine  forms  as  various  as  the  purposes  to  which  it  was 
to  be  devoted.  It  had  previously  only  raised  and  depressed  a 
rod  ;  it  must  now  turn  a  shaft.  It  had  then  only  operated  a 
pump ;  it  must  now  turn  a  mill,  grind  out  grain,  spin  our 
threads,  weave  our  cloths,  drive  our  shops  and  factories,  supply 
the  powerful  blast  of  the  iron-furnace.  It  must  be  made  to 
move  with  the  utmost  conceivable  regularity,  and  must,  with 
all  this,  do  its  work  in  the  development  of  the  hidden  energy 


278  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

of  the  fuel,  with  the  greatest  possible  economy,  through  the 
expansion  of  its  steam.     All  this  was  achieved  by  James  Watt. 

The  invention  of  the  double-acting  engine,  in  which  the  im- 
pulsion of  the  steam  is  felt  both  in  driving  the  piston  forward 
and  in  forcing  it  backward,  both  upward  and  downward,  the 
application  of  its  force  through  crank  and  fly-wheel,  the  crea- 
tion of  an  automatic  system  of  governing  its  speed,  and  the 
discovery  of  the  economy  due  to  its  complete  expansion,  were 
all  improvements  of  the  first  magnitude  and  of  the  greatest 
practical  importance ;  and  all  these  were  in  rapid  succession 
brought  into  existence  by  the  creative  mind  that  had  appa- 
rently been  brought  into  the  world  for  the  express  purpose  of 
giving  to  the  hand  of  man  this  mighty  agent,  to  perfect  the 
mightiest  power  that  mind  of  man  has  yet  conceived. 

But  to  do  the  rest  required  more  than  inventive  genius  and 
mechanical  skill.  It  demanded  capital  and  the  stored  energy 
of  labor  and  genius  in  other  fields,  directed  by  the  mind  of 
a  great  "captain  of  industry."  This  came  to  Watt  through 
Matthew  Boulton,  a  manufacturer  of  Birmingham,  whose  father 
and  ancestors  had  gradually  and  toilsomely,  as  always,  accu- 
mulated the  property  needed  for  the  prosecution  of  a  great 
business.  The  combination  of  genius  and  capital  is  always  an 
essential  to  success  in  such  cases,  and  the  good  fortune — a 
providence,  we  may  well  say — brought  together  the  genius  and 
the  capitalist  to  do  their  work,  hand-in-hand,  of  providing  the 
world  with  the  steam-engine.  Hand-in-hand  they  worked,  and 
all  the  world  to-day,  and  the  race  throughout  its  future  life, 
must  testify  gratitude  for  the  inexpressible  obligations  under 
which  these  two  men  have  placed  them,  doing  the  work  of  the 
world. 

Boulton  &  Watt,  the  capitalist  with  the  inventor,  gave  the 
world  the  steam-engine,  finally,  in  such  form  and  in  such  num- 
bers that  its  permanent  establishment  as  the  servant  of  man 
was  insured.  The  capitalist  was  as  essential  an  element  of 
success  as  was  the  inventor,  and  in  this  instance,  as  in  a 
thousand  others,  the  race  is  indebted  to  that  much-abused 
friend  of  the  race,  the  capitalist,  for  much  that  it  enjoys  of  all 
that  it  desires.  The  industry  and  patience,  the  skill  and  the 
wisdom  required  for  the  accumulation  of  this  energy  stored  for 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  279 

future  use  in  great  enterprises  is  as  important,  as  essential,  as 
inventive  power  or  any  other  form  of  genius.  Talent  and 
genius  must  always  aid  each  other.  This  firm  was  established 
in  1764,  and  its  main  resources,  aside  from  the  bank  account, 
were  Watt's  patent,  about  expiring,  and  Watt's  genius,  and 
Boulton's  talent  as  a  man  of  business.  The  patent  was  ex- 
tended for  twenty-four  years,  the  new  inventions  of  Watt,  now 
beginning  to  pour  from  his  prolific  brain  in  a  wonderful  stream, 
were  also  patented,  and  the  whole  works  were  soon  employed 
upon  the  construction  of  engines  for  which  numerous  orders 
had  begun  to  pour  in  upon  the  now  prosperous  builders.  The 
patent  law  established  Boulton  &  Watt,  and  the  firm  paid 
paid  back  the  nation  with  handsome  usury,  giving  it  unim- 
aginable profits  indirectly  through  its  control  of  the  work  of 
the  world,  and  large  profits,  indirectly,  through  the  business 
brought  them  from  all  parts  of  the  then  civilized  globe.  There 
has  never,  in  the  history  of  the  world,  been  a  more  impressive 
illustration  of  the  value  to  a  nation  of  that  generous  public 
policy,  that  simply  just  legislation,  which  gives  to  the  man  of 
brain  control  of  the  products  of  his  mind.  For  a  hundred  years 
Great  Britain  has,  largely  through  her  encouragement  of  the 
inventor  and  her  protection  of  his  mental  property,  by  securing 
the  fruits  of  his  labors,  in  fair  portion,  to  him,  gained  the  power 
of  dictating  to  the  world,  and  has  gained  an  advance  that  can- 
not be  measured.  Watt  and  Arkwright  and  Stephenson  and 
Crompton  and  their  ilk,  protected  by  their  government  and  its 
patent  laws,  made  their  country  the  peaceful  conquerors  of  the 
world.  The  story  of  the  work  of  the  inventor  is  a  poem  of 
mighty  meaning  and  of  wonderful  deeds.  The  inventor  proved 
himself  a  mightier  magician  than  ever  the  world  had  seen. 

"A  creature  he  called  to  wait  on  his  will, 
Half  iron,  half  vapor — a  dread  to  behold  ; 
Which  evermore  panted,  and  evermore  rolled, 
And  uttered  his  words  a  millionfold. ' ' 

Such  was  the  outcome  of  this  grand  modern  ' '  trust, ' '  a  com- 
bination of  the  wisest  legislation,  the  most  brilliant  invention, 
and  the  most  wisely  applied  capital.  There  are  ' '  trusts ' '  of 
which  the  outcome  is  most  beneficent. 


280  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

Since  the  days  of  Watt,  the  improvement  of  the  steam  en- 
gine and  the  work  of  inventors  has  been  confined  to  matters 
of  detail.  All  the  fundamental  principles  were  developed  by 
Watt  and  his  predecessors  and  contemporaries  and  it  was  only 
left  to  his  successors  to  find  the  best  ways  of  carrying  them  into 
effect.  But  these  matters  of  detail  have  been  found  to  involve 
opportunities  to  make  enormous  strides  in  the  direction  of 
securing  improved  efficiency  of  the  machine.  The  further  ap- 
plication of  the  principle  which  led  Watt  to  his  greatest  in- 
ventions, of  the  principle :  keep  the  cylinder  as  hot  as  the 
steam  which  enters  it,  of  that  which  he  enunciated  relative 
to  the  advantage  of  expanding  steam,  and  of  that  affecting 
the  regulation  of  the  machine,  have  reduced  the  costs  of  steam 
and  of  fuel  to  a  small  fraction  of  their  earlier  magnitude.  One 
ton  of  engine  to-day  does  the  work  of  eight  or  ten  in  the  time 
of  Watt ;  one  pound  of  fuel  or  of  steam  gives  to-day  ten  times 
the  power  then  obtained  from  it.  A  steamship  now  cresses 
the  Atlantic  in  one-eighth  the  time  required  by  the  famous 
"liner  "  of  the  "Black  Ball  I^ine."  The  wastes  of  the  engine 
have  been  brought  down  from  above  eighty  per  cent,  to  eight ; 
and  a  half  ounce  of  fuel  on  board  ship  will  now  transport  a 
ton  of  cargo  over  a  mile  of  ocean. 

Frederick  B.  Sickels  gave  us  the  first  practicable  form  of 
expansion-gear  is  1841;  George  H.  Corliss  gave  a  new  type  of 
engine  of  marvelous  perfection  and  economy  in  1849;  Noble 
T.  Green,  Wm.  Wright  and  many  less  well-known  but  no  less 
meritorious  inventors  have  since  done  their  part  in  the  trans- 
formation of  the  old  engine  of  Watt  into  the  modern  wonder  of 
concentrated  ^  and  economical  power,  and  marvel  of  accurate 
and  beautiful  design  and  workmanship.  The  "  trip  cut  -off," 
with  reduced  clearness,  increased  boiler-pressures,  higher  rates 
of  expansion,  accelerated  speeds  of  engine,  better  construction 
in  all  respects,  as  well  as  improved  design,  have  enabled  us  to 
avail  ourselves  to  the  utmost  of  the  principles  of  Watt,  and 
our  mills,  our  railways,  our  steamers  and  our  fields,  even,  have 
gained  almost  as  extraordinarily  by  these  advances,  since  the 
days  of  the  great  inventor,  as  through  his  immediate  labors. 

With  the  introduction  of    the  new  form  of  older  energy, 
electricity,  with  the  reduction  of  the  lightning  into  thraldom, 


PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE    CONGRESS.  281 

has  now  come  a  new  impulse  affecting  all  the  industries. 
Through  its  mysterious,  its  still  mysterious  action,  steam  now 
reaches  out  far  from  its  own  place,  driving  the  electric  car  along 
miles  of  rail ;  giving  light  throughout  all  the  country  about  it, 
turning  night  into  day,  and  repressing  crime  while  eticouraging 
legitimate  labor ;  reaching  into  distant  chambers  and  every 
little  workshop,  to  offer  its  powerful  aid  in  all  the  distributed 
work  of  cities.  Without  the  steam-engine  there  would  be  lit- 
tle work  available  for  electricity,  but  the  appearance  of  this, 
the  latest  and  most  useful  handmaid  of  steam,  has  given  the 
engine  work  to  do  in  an  uncounted  number  of  new  fields,  has 
called  in  the  inventor  once  more  to  adapt  steam  to  its  new  work. 
The  "high-speed  engine"  is  the  latest  form  of  the  universal 
helper.  And  such  has  been  the  readiness  and  the  intelligence 
of  the  contempoary  inventor  that  we  now  have  engines  capable 
of  turning  their  shafts  three  hundred  rotations  a  minute  and 
without  a  perceptible  variation  of  velocity,  whatever  the 
change  of  load  or  the  suddenness  with  which  it  is  varied.  In 
the  days  of  Watt  a  fluctuation  of  five  per  cent,  in  speed  was 
thought  wonderfully  small ;  in  those  of  Corliss,  the  variation 
was  restricted  to  two  per  cent.,  and  we  wondered  at  this  unan- 
ticipated success.  To-day,  thanks  to  Porter  and  Allen,  to 
Hartnell,  to  Hoadly,  to  Sims,  to  Thomson,  to  Sweet,  and  to 
Ide  and  to  Ball,  we  have  seen  the  speed  fluctuation  restricted 
to  even  less  than  one  per  cent,  of  its  normal  average. 

The  inventors  of  the  steam  engine  are,  through  their  repre- 
sentatives of  to-day,  according  to  the  statisticians,  doing  the 
equivalent  of  twelve  times  the  work  of  a  horse  for  every  man, 
woman  and  child  on  the  globe.  We  have  not  less,  probably, 
than  a  half  million  of  miles  of  railway,  transporting  something 
over  150,000,000,000  of  tons  a  mile  a  year.  A  horse  is  reckoned 
to  haul  a  ton  weight  about  six  and  a-half  miles,  day  by  day,  by 
the  year  together.  In  the  United  States  it  is  reckoned  that 
the  steam  engine  on  the  railways  alone  hauls  a  thousand  tons 
one  mile  for  every  inhabitant  of  the  country  every  year  ;  or,  if 
it  is  preferred  to  so  state  it,  a  ton  a  thousand  miles.  This  is 
the  way  in  which  the  East  and  the  West  are,  by  the  inventors 
of  the  steam  engine,  enabled  to  help  each  other.  This  costs 
about  $10  each  individual ;  it  would  require  some  twenty-five 


282  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

millions  of  horses  to  do  this  work,  and  would  cost  about  $1,000 
a  family,  which  is  more  than  twice  the  average  family  earnings. 

Dr.  Strong,  in  that  remarkable  book,  "  Our  Country,"  says  : 
* '  One  man,  by  the  aid  of  steam,  is  able  to  do  the  work  which  re- 
quired 250  men  at  the  beginning  of  the  century.  The  machinery 
of  Massachusetts  alone  represents  the  labor  of  more  than  100,- 
000,000  men,  as  if  one-half  of  all  the  workmen  of  the  globe  had 
engaged  in  her  service."  And  again  :  "Some  thirty  years  ago 
the  power  of  machinery  in  the  mills  of  Great  Britain  was  esti- 
mated to  be  equal  to  600,000,000  men,  or  more  than  all  the 
adults,  male  and  female,  of  all  mankind."  Mr.  Gladstone  esti- 
mated that  the  aggregation  of  wealth  on  the  globe  during  the 
whole  period  from  the  birth  of  Christ  to  that  of  Watt  was 
equalled  by  the  production  in  twenty  years  at  the  middle  of 
this  century,  with  the  aid  of  machinery  driven  by  the  fruit  of 
the  brain  of  the  inventors  of  the  steam  engine.  We  may  prob- 
ably now  safely  estimate  the  former  quantity  as  rivalled  in  less 
than  five  years,  while  since  the  birth  of  Watt  and  his  engine 
and  the  production  of  the  spinning-mule,  the  power-loom,  the 
cotton-gin  and  our  own  patent  system  and  its  marvelous  mechan- 
ism, all  events  of  a  century  ago,  we  may  estimate  that  they  have 
together  accomplished  more  in  this  period  which  we  now  cele- 
brate than  could  have  been  done  in  a  millenium  of  milleniums 
without  these  now  subjected  genii.  But  the  power  behind  all 
these  curious  inventions  and  their  work  is  that  of  steam.  The 
steam  engine  even  supplies  power  to  the  telegraph,  and  trans- 
ports words  and  thought  as  well  as  cotton-bales  and  coal. 

And  now  what  has  this  combination  of  legislation  for  private 
protection  and  public  good,  of  a  genius  producing  great  inven- 
tions and  of  the  accumulated  capital  of  earlier  years,  brought 
about  ? 

It  has  given  us  the  best  fruits  of  science  in  permanent  pos- 
session. The  study  of  science  invariably  aids  in  a  thousand 
ways  the  progress  of  mankind.  It  gives  us  new  conceptions 
of  nature  and  of  the  possibilities  of  art ;  it  promotes  right  ways 
of  work  and  of  study  ;  it  teaches  the  inventor  and  the  discoverer 
how  most  surely  and  promptly  to  gain  their  several  ends  ;  it 
gives  the  world  the  results  of  all  acquired  knowledge  in  con- 
crete form.  This  one  instance  which  we  are  now  especially 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  283 

interested  in  contemplating  has  performed  more  wonderful 
miracles  than  ever  Aladdin's  genii  attempted.  One  man,  with 
a  steam  engine  at  his  hand,  turns  the  wheels  of  a  great  mill, 
drives  forty  thousand  spindles,  applies  a  thousand  horse-power 
to  daily  work  in  the  spinning  of  threads,  the  weaving  of  cloth, 
the  impulsion  of  a  steamboat,  or  the  drawing  of  great  masses 
of  hot  iron  into  finest  wire.  This  puny  creature,  his  mind  in 
his  finger-tips,  exerts  the  power  of  ten  thousand  men  working 
with  muscle  alone,  and  aided  by  a  handful  of  women,  boys  and 
girls,  clothes  a  city.  A  half-dozen  men  in  the  engine  room  of 
an  ocean  steamer,  with  a  hundred  strong  laborers  in  the  boiler 
room  and  on  deck,  transports  colonies  and  makes  new  nations, 
brings  separated  peoples  together,  unites  countries  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  globe,  brings  about  easy  exchanges  between  pole 
and  equator.  One  man  on  the  footboard  of  the  locomotive,  one 
man  shoveling  into  the  furnaces  the  black  powder  that  encloses 
the  energy  stored  in  early  geological  ages,  a  half-dozen  men 
mounted  on  the  long  train  of  following  vehicles,  combine  to 
bring  to  the  mill  girl  in  Massachusetts,  the  miner  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  sewing  woman  and  the  wealthy  merchant,  her  neigh- 
bor, in  New  York,  the  flour  made  in  Minnesota  from  the  grain 
harvested  a  few  weeks  earlier  in  Dakota.  All  the  world  is 
served  faithfully  and  efficiently  by  this  unimaginable  power, 
this  product  of  the  brain  of  the  inventor,  protected  by  the  law, 
stimulated  and  aided  by  the  capital  that  it  has  itself  almost 
alone  produced. 

And  thus  have  the  inventors  of  the  steam  engine  set  in 
motion  and  placed  at  the  disposal  of  mankind  for  every  form 
of  useful  work,  all  the  great  forces  of  nature.  Thus,  Hero 
of  Alexandria  touched  the  then  concealed  spring  which  called 
all  the  genii  of  earth,  fire,  water  and  air  to  do  the  bidding  of 
the  race.  Thus  Papin,  Worcester,  Newcomen,  Watt  and  Cor- 
liss and  others  of  our  own  contemporaries,  have  applied  the 
genii  to  their  task  of  leveling  mountains,  traversing  seas, 
continents,  and  the  depths  of  the  earth,  building  ships,  loco- 
motives, hamlets  and  cities,  cottages  and  palaces,  turning  the 
spindle,  operating  the  loom,  and  setting  in  motion  and  giving 
energy  to  every  machine ;  doing  the  work  of  thousands  of 
millions  of  men,  converting  barbarism  into  civilization,  giving 


284  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

necessaries  of  life  in  profusion,  comforts  in  plenty,  and  luxuries 
in  superabundance. 

Aiding  and  working  hand-in-hand  with  those  other  genii  of 
progress,  the  inventors  of  the  printing-press  and  of  the  tele- 
graph, the  telephone,  and  the  electric  railway,  of  the  modern 
system  of  textile  manufactures,  of  iron  and  steel-making,  of  the 
mowing-machine  and  the  harvester,  they  have  compressed  into 
two  centuries  the  progress  of  a  millenium,  destitute  of  their  aid. 
Every  step  taken  under  their  stimulus  and  with  their  help  is  a 
step  toward  a  higher  life  for  all,  intellectually  and  morally  as 
well  as  physically  ;  every  advance  in  the  improvement  of  their 
work  is  a  gain  to  every  man,  woman  and  child  ;  every  improve- 
ment of  the  steam  engine  is  a  help  to  the  whole  world.  This 
progress  makes  the  day  of  the  extinction  of  the  system  now 
grinding  the  populations  of  the  earth  into  the  ground,  the  day  of 
the  abolition  of  armies  and  the  restoration  to  the  people  of  that 
freedom  which  characterized  the  times  of  the  patriarchs,  and  of 
the  restoration  of  the  rights  of  the  citizen  to  his  own  time  and 
strength  and  producing  power  perceptibly  nearer. 

When  this  final  revolution  shall  have  been  accomplished, 
and  when  all  the  world  has  settled  down  to  the  steady  and 
undisturbed  work  of  production  by  daily  and  regular  labor, 
aided  by  the  genii  of  steam,  of  electricity,  of  all  nature  com- 
bined for  good,  the  results  of  the  intellectual  activity  of  the  in- 
ventors of  the  steam  engine  will  be  fully  seen.  Then  no  monu- 
ment will  be  required  to  keep  green  the  memory  of  Watt, 
Corliss,  or  any  other  of  these  great  men  ;  but  it  will  be  said  of 
them  as  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren  in  the  epitaph  in  St.  Paul's  : 
' '  Seek  you  a  monument  ?  Look  about  you. ' '  Every  wreath 
of  steam  rising  to  the  heavens  from  factory,  mill,  or  workshop 
will  be  a  reminder  of  Hero  of  Alexandria ;  every  mine  will 
possess  a  memorial  to  Papin,  Worcester,  and  Savery  ;  every 
steamship  will  bring  into  grateful  memory  Fitch,  and  Stevens, 
and  Bell,  and  Fulton  ;  thousands  of  locomotives  crossing  the 
continents  will  perpetuate  the  thought  of  the  Stephensons  and 
their  colleagues  in  the  introduction  of  the  railway  ;  the  hum  of 
millions  of  spindles  and  the  music  pf  the  electric  wire  will  tell 
of  the  work  of  Corliss  and  his  contemporaries  and  successors 
who  made  these  things  possible  ;  and  all  kingdoms  and  races, 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  285 

all  nations  will  revere  the  name  of  James  Watt,  the  genius  to 
whom  the  world  is  most  indebted  for  the  beginnings  of  all  this 
later  and  grander  civilization  which  has  converted  the  slow 
progress  of  earlier  centuries  into  the  meteor-like  advance  of  to- 
day toward  a  future  as  grand,  and  as  mighty,  and  as  noble  as 
humanity  shall  choose  to  make  it. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  287 


THE    EFFECT    OF    INVENTION    UPON    THE    PRO- 
GRESS   OF    ELECTRICAL    SCIENCE. 

BY    CYRUS  F.   BRACKETT,  M.  D.,  LL.D.,  OF  NEW  JERSEY,   HENRY 
PROFESSOR  OF  PHYSICS,  COI,I,EGE  OF  NEW  JERSEY,  PRINCETON. 

Electrical  science  really  begins  with  the  labors  of  Dr.  Gilbert. 
These  he  published  in  1600.  For  almost  exactly  two  hundred 
years  from  this  date  investigation  was  confined  to  that  domain 
which  is  still  sometimes  called  static  electricity.  A  new  era, 
however,  dawned  in  1800,  when  Volta  gave  to  the  world  an 
invention  whose  importance  can  scarcely  be  exaggerated — the 
voltaic  battery. 

The  simplicity  of  the  device  and  the  wonderful  effects  which 
it  could  produce  at  once  excited  the  most  lively  interest,  and 
men  of  science  made  haste  to  investigate  it.  By  means  of  it 
Carlisle  and  Nicholson  soon  succeeded  in  decomposing  water, 
and  Ritter  had  a  similar  success  with  copper  sulphate.  Thus 
commenced  a  long  line  of  research  in  electrolysis  which  was  pur- 
sued with  great  success  by  Davy  and  others,  and  which  finally 
led  Faraday  to  the  grand  generalization  known  as  Faraday's 
laws  of  electrolysis. 

Meantime,  Ritter  had  noticed  that  the  two  plates  of  the  same 
metal  which  have  just  served  to  convey  the  current  to  and 
from  a  liquid  while  undergoing  electrolytic  decomposition 
can,  themselves,  furnish  a  current,  and  he  was  thus  led  to  the 
invention  of  the  "storage  battery."  It  was  Volta,  however, 
who  gave  the  correct  explanation  of  its  action. 

Ritter,  Pfaff  and  others  observed  that  the  conducting  wires 
of  the  battery  are  warmed  by  the  passage  of  the  current,  and 
Curtet,  on  closing  the  circuit  with  a  piece  of  charcoal,  produced 
a  brilliant  light.  Davy  systematically  investigated  these  heat- 
ing effects  of  the  current,  employing  various  metals  as  con- 
ductors, thus  incidentally  testing  their  resistances,  and  finally 
in  1812-,  on  making  the  current  pass  between  two  pieces  of  char- 
coal, he  produced  the  well-known  electric  arc. 


288  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   CONGRESS. 

Thus  in  little  more  than  a  decade  from  the  date  of  Volta's 
invention,  more  real  progress  was  made  than  in  any  century 
previous.  But  the  true  progress  of  electrical  science  is  not  to 
be  measured  solely,  or  even  mainly,  by  the  number  nor  by  the 
splendor  of  the  physical  results  which  attend  it,  but  rather  by 
the  insight  into  the  operations  of  nature  which  we  gain. 
Viewed  in  this  light  Volta's  invention  was  itself  the  embodi- 
ment of  a  great  advance  which  he  had  made  into  an  entirely 
new  region.  It  was  not  the  mere  outcome  of  happy  accident, 
but  the  result  of  severely  logical  reasoning  upon  facts  which  he 
had  observed  while  he  was  investigating  the  so-called  ' '  animal 
electricity"  of  Galvani. 

Volta's  fundamental  research  respecting  the  electrical  dis- 
turbances produced  by  contact  of  dissimilar  substances  afforded 
him  a  basis  for  a  rational  theory  of  the  action  of  the  battery, 
and  this  theory  has  had  a  far-reaching  influence  not  only  upon 
the  progress  of  electrical  science,  but  on  physical  science  in 
general. 

The  voltaic  battery  rendered  possible  an  observation  out  of 
which  grew  the  next  great  invention,  which  we  will  consider. 
In  1820  Oersted  noticed  that  a  magnetic  needle  was  deflected 
from  its  normal  position  by  voltaic  current  which  was  flowing 
in  a  conductor  near  it.  He  determined  the  relation  of  the  cur- 
rent to  the  deflection  as  respects  direction,  and  sent  a  brief 
memoir  concerning  the  matter  to  well  known  scientists. 

Arago  immediately  found  that  iron  filings  were  attracted  by 
a  wire  conveying  a  voltaic  current.  In  order  to  strengthen  the 
magnetic  action  of  the  current  Schweigger  invented  the  mag- 
netizing helix  or  spiral.  By  means  of  this  Arago  was  able  to 
magnetize  steel  permanently  and  iron  temporarily.  The  con- 
ception of  this  helix  was  the  first  act  of  invention  which  was  to 
produce  the  electro-magnet.  Yet  it  was  not  until  1825  that 
Sturgeon  wound  a  conducting  wire  about  a  core  of  iron  to  pro- 
duce the  electro-magnet  proper.  The  magnet  as  it  left  the 
hand  of  Sturgeon  was  a  crude  device,  which  the  genius  of 
Henry  finally  perfected  between  the  years  1828  and  1831. 
Henry  constructed  several  magnets  some  of  which  were  wound 
with  long,  thin  insulated  wires,  while  others  were  wound  with 
shorter  and  thicker  wires  in  parallel.  These  could  be  joined 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS.  289 

either  in  series  or  in  parallel.  He  thus  had  the  means  of 
studying  the  effects  which  a  given  battery  can  produce  when 
made  to  actuate  magnets  having  different  windings.  He  also 
investigated  the  effects  which  are  produced  by  the  use  of  bat- 
teries having  different  electro-motive  forces.  He  thus  discov- 
ered the  principles  which  must  be  observed  in  order  to  secure 
the  best  results  from  the  electro-magnet  under  any  given  con- 
ditions. Indeed,  a  careful  examination  of  Henry's  work  will 
convince  one  that  he  disclosed  the  same  result  by  the  light  of 
skillful  experiment,  as  is  set  forth  in  Ohm's  now  well-known 
formula.  Moreover,  he  clearly  perceived  that  the  magnet  as 
he  had  perfected  it  offered  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  the 
telegraph,  and  he  made  proof  of  his  prevision  by  actually  in- 
stalling one. 

In  the  hands  of  Ampere  the  conducting  helix  was  made, 
under  one  form  or  another,  a  means  of  investigation  which  he 
pushed  with  wonderful  energy  and  skill  until  he  unfolded  the 
laws  of  interaction  between  magnets  and  electrical  currents  as 
well  as  those  which  govern  the  mutual  actions  of  the  currents 
themselves.  In  short,  it  may  be  said  that  as  the  result  of  his 
inquiries  Ampere  was  brought  to  a  comprehensive  theory  of 
magnetic  action  which  was  startling  alike  for  its  simplicity  and 
its  boldness.  It  deserves  to  rank  with  Newton's  theory  of  uni- 
versal attraction. 

The  skillful  labors  of  Faraday  and  Henry  brought  to  light 
by  the  same  means  the  laws  of  induced  currents,  and  so  sup- 
plied the  elements  which  practical  inventors  have  since  com- 
bined so  as  to  do  our  bidding,  whether  it  be  to  illumine  our 
streets  and  dwellings,  push  our  cars  or  delve  in  the  mountain 
for  hidden  treasure. 

The  electromagnetic  phenomena  educed  by  the  voltaic  cur- 
rent as  it  flows  through  a  helix  constitutes  the  basis  of  a  most 
admirable  system  of  measurement  for  electrical  quantities, 
while  the  helix  itself  contains  in  germ  the  whole  family  of 
measuring  instruments  by  means  of  which  such  measurements 
are  made.  Moreover,  these  phenomena  led  the  sagacious  mind 
of  Faraday  to  a  wholly  new  way  of  regarding  electrical  action 
in  general.  He  clearly  perceived  that  the  old  doctrine  of  the 
'•  imponderables  "  was  untenable,  and  he  looked  for  some  com- 


290  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

mon  nexus  between  all  physical  actions.  He  was  disposed  to 
refer  the  interactions  which  bodies  exhibit  in  consequence  of 
their  electrical  states  to  the  medium  intervening  between  them. 
As  light  is  believed  to  be  transmitted  by  a  universal  medium, 
he  sought  to  find,  by  experiment,  some  connection  between 
light  and  electromagnetic  action.  On  passing  a  beam  of  plane 
polarized  light  through  a  block  of  glass  within  a  magnetizing 
helix  he  found  that  the  beam  was  twisted  when  the  current 
was  made  to  flow  through  the  helix. 

Maxwell  undertook  the  very  important  work  of  subjecting 
the  results  reached  by  previous  workers,  and  generally  set 
forth  in  Faraday's  "Experimental  Researches,"  to  mathe- 
matical discussion,  which  must  be  considered  the  final  test  of 
truth.  Not  to  mention  others,  one  very  important  result  was 
his  "  electromagnetic  theory  of  light."  But  experiments  were 
wanting,  save  the  single  one  of  Faraday  just  mentioned,  to 
confirm  his  deduction.  It  was  reserved  for  Hertz  to  supply 
the  necessary  evidence  in  support  of  Maxwell's  theory,  which 
he  had  lately  done  by  making  skilful  use  of  the  oscillating  dis- 
charge of  charged  conductors,  earlier  demonstrated  by  Henry. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  two  great  germinal  inventions 
which  have  most  influenced  the  progress  of  electrical  science 
during  our  century  are  the  voltaic  battery  and  the  magnetizing 
helix.  The  one  gave  us  first  the  means  of  evoking  electrical 
energy  continuously,  while  the  other  gave  us  the  means  of 
applying  it  as  we  may  have  occasion.  Both  contributed 
powerfully  in  a  direct  way  to  the  progress  of  electrical  science 
by  reason  of  the  various  and  startling  phenomena  which  they 
revealed. 

But  it  seldom  happens  that  progress  continues  long  in  any 
department  of  physical  science  unaffected  by  the  practical  ap- 
plication of  its  results  in  the  arts,  and,  conversely,  such  appli- 
cations almost  invariably  react  to  stimulate  scientific  inquiry. 
Two  principal  reasons  for  this  effect  may  be  noticed.  When 
the  apparatus  and  the  operations  of  the  laboratory  give  place 
to  those'  which  are  suited  to  commercial  uses,  new  conditions 
arise  which  frequently  bring  into  prominence  phenomena  be- 
fore unobserved  or  inconspicuous.  These  then  become  sub- 
jects for  new  investigations,  and  in  due  time  scientific  progress 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  291 

ivS  the  result.  Thus,  telegraphy  brought  its  knotty  problems 
as  well  as  its  successes,  especially  when  its  lines  were  stretched 
under  the  sea,  and  when  one  wire  was  required  to  do  the  duty 
of  several,  and  nothing  less  than  the  highest  skill  and  the 
most  severe  analysis  has  sufficed  to  effect  their  solution.  So, 
too,  telephony  was  early  beset  with  peculiar  difficulties,  not- 
withstanding the  simplicity  of  the  means  which  it  employs — 
thanks  to  the  genius  of  Professor  Bell — but  they  were  such  as 
electrical  science  has  profited  from.  Speaking  generally,  it 
may  be  said  that  almost  every  one  of  the  devices  which  are  in 
daily  use  for  the  transformation  of  mechanical  work  into  elec- 
trical energy,  and  the  converse,  has  compelled  its  inventors,  in 
the  course  of  its  evolution,  to  contribute  something  to  the 
common  stock  of  scientific  truth. 

It  was  regretted  by  Franklin  that  the  results  of  electrical 
research  had  not  been  turned  more  to  the  use  of  man  in  prac- 
tical affairs.  Faraday  did  not  doubt  that  the  time  would  come 
when  that  reproach  would  be  removed,  but  he  felt  it  a  duty  on 
his  own  part  to  push  on  the  work  of  discovery,  and  to  leave 
industrial  inventions  to  others.  Such  applications  are  now 
everywhere  about  us  and  are  rapidly  extending.  Of  course 
they  involve  the  investment  of  millions  of  capital,  and  this 
renders  it  impossible  that  the  great  public  shall  be  indifferent 
to  the  science  upon  which  they  depend.  Hence  it  is  that  all 
our  schools  of  technology  and  most  of  our  colleges  have 
already  made  provision  for  training  in  it. 

Every  consideration  leads  us  to  expect  that  future  progress 
in  electrical  science  will  be  more  rapid  than  it  has  ever  been  in 
the  past ;  the  present  offers  to  the  student  the  accumulated 
treasures  of  knowledge  and  the  hope  of  scientific  distinction 
as  well  as  that  of  pecuniary  reward.  It  can  hardly  be  that 
among  the  scores  of  young  men  to  whom  these  advantages 
come  as  inspirations  there  will  not  be  found  some  who  shall 
prove  to  be  worthy  successors  of  the  great  men  into  whose 
labors  they  so  easily  enter. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  293 


THE    INFLUENCE   OF   INVENTION  UPON  THE  IM- 
PLEMENTS AND  MUNITIONS  OF  MODERN 

WARFARE. 
BY  MAJOR  CLARENCE  B.  BUTTON,  ORDNANCE  DEPARTMENT,  U.  S.  A. 

That  remarkable  progress  which  has  characterized  the  vari- 
ous arts  during  the  present  century,  and  especially  during  its 
second  half,  is  well  exemplified  in  the  great  increase  of  effici- 
ency in  war  material  and  weapons  of  war.  From  the  time  of 
the  invention  of  gun  powder  to  the  close  of  the  last  century 
there  was  progress  in  the  improvement  of  arms,  but  it  now 
seems  to  us  very  slow.  In  no  other  department  of  invention 
were  the  kings  and  nobility  so  much  interested.  No  inventor 
was  so  much  valued  or  so  richly  rewarded  as  the  one  who  had 
devised  a  more  deadly  weapon  or  an  implement  which  would 
increase  the  efficiency  of  a  soldier.  It  is  a  significant  com- 
mentary on  the  early  part  of  the  iyth  century  that  the  discov- 
ery of  the  telescope  was  at  first  regarded  as  having  little  or  no 
other  utility  than  as  an  aid  to  the  eye  of  the  commander  of 
troops  in  the  field,  and  an  effort  was  made  by  the  Prince  in 
whose  dominon  it  was  invented  to  keep  it  secret,  and  to  mo- 
nopolize its  military  advantages.  But  with  all  the  patronage 
of  Kings  and  Princes,  progress  in  the  mechanics  of  warfare  was 
not  materially  greater  than  in  other  mechanic  arts.  And  yet 
there  was  progress.  But  it  was  at  such  a  rate  that  it  required 
half  a  century  at  least  and  sometimes  a  whole  century  of  im- 
provement to  clearly  establish  by  comparison  the  fact  that 
the  methods  and  materials  of  warfare  had  notably  changed. 
Indeed  if  we  compare  the  cannon  used  at  the  beginning  of  the 
1 5th  century  with  those  used  by  the  first  Napoleon  in  his  first 
Italian  campaign  at  the  close  of  the  i8th  we  shall  find  only 
a  very  moderate  difference,  and  such  as  may  be  recognized  will 
be  chiefly  in  the  method  of  mounting  and  transporting  the 
piece,  while  the  structure  and  effectiveness  of  the  cannon 


294  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE  CONGRESS. 

itself  apart  from  its  mounting  will  appear  to  have  undergone 
no  radical  change.  In  small  arms  the  progress  was  somewhat 
greater.  Yet  it  may  sound  like  satire  to  say  that  from  the 
time  of  the  first  arquebuss  to  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century  the  most  important  improvement  of  the  foot  soldiers 
fire-arm  was  the  addition  of  the  flint-lock  for  discharging  it. 

In  the  first  half  of  the  present  century  progress  was  some- 
what more  rapid.  This  progress,  however,  was  not  so  much 
in  the  line  of  increased  power  and  efficiency  of  weapons  nor 
in  respect  to  important  changes  in  their  functions  or  structure 
as  in  the  machinery  and  methods  of  fabricating  them  and  im- 
proving the  workmanship  and  materials.  Prior  to  1800  all 
parts  of  a  musket  were  made  wholly  by  handicraft,  and  the 
founding  of  cannon  was  a  primitive  and  laborous  operation. 
But  soon  after  the  opening  of  the  present  century  the  introduc- 
tion of  machinery  in  the  armories  became  a  pronounced  fea- 
ture. And  in  this  respect  the  United  States  took  the  lead  of 
all  nations.  It  is  more  characteristic  of  our  people  than  of  any 
other  to  seek  to  replace  the  labor  of  men  with  the  labor  of 
machines.  The  rolling  of  gun-barrels  upon  a  mandrel,  the  ex- 
tensive use  of  milling  machines  for  shaping  the  irregular  parts, 
the  systematic  use  of  the  drop  and  die,  and  above  all  the 
practice  of  finishing  the  parts  of  a  gun  with  such  precision 
that  a  thousand  guns  could  be  assembled  by  taking  the  dis- 
tributed parts  at  random  and  putting  them  together  without 
any  additional  fitting  were  first  adopted  and  carried  into  suc- 
cessful practice  in  our  own  factories.  There  were  improve- 
ments also  in  artillery,  but  chiefly  in  the  direction  of  better 
workmanship,  more  effective  projectiles,  increased  mobility  of 
field  artillery,  better  mountings  and  more  powerful  guns  for 
fixed  armaments.  Yet  none  of  these  changes  were  of  revolu- 
tionary importance. 

Between  1850  and  1860  began  that  wonderfully  rapid  de- 
velopment which  has  led  to  the  modern  high  power  artillery, 
the  magazine  rifle  for  infantry,  and  the  rapid-fire  machine  guns 
which  have  developed  a  radically  new  function  in  modern 
armaments.  I  propose  to  allude  briefly  to  the  fundamental 
improvements  which  distinguish  modern  arms  from  those  which 
preceded  them,  and  which  exhibit  the  principles  rather  than 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS.  295 

the  details.  One  of  the  most  surprising  things  about  these 
improvements  is  the  fact  that  they  consist  very  largely  in 
modifications,  which  seem  to  the  inexpert  comparatively  trifling. 
On  comparing  a  modern  gun  with  such  as  were  in  favor 
fifty  or  a  hundred  years  ago,  the  popular  mind  would  doubtless 
be  impressed  with  the  idea  that  the  essential  difference  lies  in 
the  fact  that  the  new  gun  is  a  breech-loading  rifle,  while  the 
old  gun  was  a  muzzle-loading  smooth-bore.  But  breech-loading 
is  one  of  the  oldest  inventions  in  gunnery,  was  revived  from 
time  to  time,  experimented  with  and  rejected  as  inferior  to 
muzzle-loading,  and  if  the  artillerists  of  a  century  or  more  ago 
could  have  been  furnished  with  the  best  breech- closing  devices 
of  the  present  day,  they  would  very  properly  and  logically 
have  been  rejected  just  the  same.  Breech-loading  is  not  a 
novel  and  fundamental  improvement  in  itself;  it  is,  rather, 
a  logical  consequence  and  secondary  result  made  necessary  by 
other  improvements  which  are  more  fundamental,  and  which 
were  unknown  to  our  ancestors. 

The  use  of  rifling  and  of  the  elongated  projectile  offers 
similar  considerations.  Rifling  has  been  known  for  more  than 
four  centuries,  and  the  effect  of  the  resistance  of  air  upon 
elongated  projectiles  of  various  forms  was  learnedly  discussed 
by  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  and  a  few  years  later  by  Benjamin 
Robbins,  one  of  Newton's  disciples.  The  relations  of  length 
and  calibre  were  well  understood,  and  with  this  knowledge  in 
their  possession  it  might  seem  at  first  inexplicable  that  breech- 
loading  rifles  were  never  used  in  military  service  until  the  last 
three  or  four  decades.  A  brief  examination,  however,  will 
show,  I  think,  that  the  knowledge  and  resources  of  our  prede- 
cessors prior  to  1800,  and  possibly  prior  to  1850,  were  insufficient 
to  construct  a  rifled-cannou  which  would  be  notably  superior 
to  a  smooth-bore  of  equal  weight.  They  did  not  know  how 
to  increase  the  energy  of  the  projectile  without  imposing 
stresses  upon  the  gun  beyond  the  limit  of  safety.  Neither  did 
they  know  how  to  make  stronger  guns  than  those  which  they 
used.  The  knowledge  which  they  lacked,  and  which  was 
essential  to  a  great  increase  of  ballistic  power,  has  been  gained 
within  the  last  forty  years. 


296  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

The  fundamental  improvements  which  characterizes  modern 
ordnance  may  be  classified  in  three  groups  : 

1.  The  regulation  and  control  of  the  action  of  gunpowder 
in  such  manner  as  to  exert  less  strain  upon   the  gun,  and  to 
impart  more  energy  to  the  projectile. 

2.  To  so  construct  the  gun  as  to  transfer  a  portion  of  the 
strain  from  the  interior  parts  of  the  walls,  which  had  borne  too 
much  of  it,  to  the  exterior  parts  which  had  borne  too  little, 
thus  more  nearly  equalizing  the  strain  throughout  the  entire 
thickness  of  the  walls. 

3.  To   provide  a   metal  which  should  be   at  once  stronger 
and  safer  than  any.  which  had  been  used  before. 

The  regulation  and  control  of  the  action  of  gunpowder  was 
attempted  more  than  a  century  and  a  half  ago  and  something 
was  accomplished.  We  owe  to  the  French  artillerists  some 
important  discoveries  in  this  direction  and  in  1850  it  was  well 
established  that  strong  and  mild  powders  could  be  produced  at 
will  by  the  manufacturer.  But  the  investigations  and  experi- 
ments of  Rodman  carried  the  power  of  control  over  the  action 
of  powder  to  an  extent  so  far  exceeding  anything  of  the  kind 
which  had  been  attained  before  that  his  results  were  of  revolu- 
tionary importance.  It  can  hardly  be  claimed  that  the  prin- 
ciples involved  in  Rodman's  gunpowder  experiments  were 
novel.  But  the  extent  to  which  he  carried  them  into  practice 
was  such  as  to  make  it  equivalent  to  a  new  discovery.  The 
improvement  was  one  of  degree  rather  than  of  kind,  but  such 
as  it  was  its  consequences  were  great.  It  rendered  possible  an 
increase  in  the  weight  of  both  powder  and  projectile  without 
increasing  the  strain  upon  the  gun.  A  second  step  leading  in 
the  same  direction  and  also  of  revolutionary  importance  was  an 
increase  in  the  size  of  the  powder  chamber,  so  as  to  allow  vacant 
space  in  it  unfilled  by  the  powder.  Strange  as  it  may  seem  to 
the  uninitiated,  this,  too,  was  an  invention  of  revolutionary  im- 
portance. It  was  first  adopted  in  the  Krupp  guns.  It  permits 
a  still  further  increase  in  the  amount  of  powder  without  adding 
to  the  strain  upon  the  gun.  How  a  device  so  simple,  so 
obvious  and  so  necessary  could  have  been  overlooked  so  long  is 
one  of  those  mysteries  of  invention  which  it  seems  now  impos- 
sible to  explain,  except  upon  the  assumption  that  those  who 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS.  29? 

had  thought  of  it  (and  many  had  done  so)  dismissed  it  as  worse 
than  useless.  The  discussion  of  the  form  and  proportions  of 
the  powder  chamber  had  been  worn  threadbare  a  hundred 
years  ago,  and  the  effect  of  a  chamber  of  larger  diameter  than 
the  bore  had  not  been  overlooked.  But  the  idea  of  partially 
filling  such  a  chamber  with  powder  and  leaving  a  considerable 
amount  of  vacant  space  seems  to  have  attracted  no  attention. 
Yet  this  device  so  simple  that  an  old-time  artillerist  of  the 
greatest  learning  and  widest  experience  in  his  art  would  have 
sneered  at  it  contained  the  precious  secret  that  he  would  have 
been  almost  willing  to  lay  down  his  life  to  discover.  May  we 
not  say  that  the  reason  why  it  was  not  sooner  discovered  was 
its  too  transparent  simplicity  ? 

The  second  group  of  discoveries  consists  of  devices  for  con- 
structing guns  with  initial  strains,  the  metal  near  the  bore 
being  compressed,  while  the  exterior  metal  is  stretched.  In  a 
gun  without  initial  strains  the  restraining  effect  of  the  metal 
decreases  rapidly  from  the  surface  of  the  bore  outwards,  so  that 
the  external  portions  add  very  little  to  its  strength.  With  the 
firing  of  heavy  charges  the  inner  portions  are  strained  to  the 
limit  of  safety  or  beyond,  while  the  outer  portions  are  taxed  but 
little.  But  if  the  inner  parts  before  firing  are  highly  compressed 
while  the  outer  parts  are  stretched,  the  full  stress  of  firing 
brings  all  parts  into  action  with  a  restraining  effect  much  more 
nearly  equal  or  much  less  unequal.  This  greatly  increases  the 
strength  of  the  gun.  The  first  one  to  put  this  conception  into 
practice  and  prove  its  reality  by  experiment  was  Rodman.  He 
applied  it  to  cast-iron  guns  by  the  method  of  cooling  them 
from  the  interior.  This  result  did  not,  indeed,  fully  realize  the 
principle  involved,  but  it  did  so  partially,  and  to  an  important 
extent,  and  was  a  long  stride  in  the  right  direction.  His  results 
fully  established  the  value  of  it  and  made  it  a  fundamental 
principle  in  modern  constructions. 

The  possibility  of  using  steel  for  guns  has  from  the  beginning 
been  merely  a  metallurgical  question.  Gun  steel,  however, 
constitutes  a  special  department  of  steel  manufacture  and  its 
development  has  proceeded  to  a  considerable  extent  upon  lines 
of  its  own.  The  machinery  required  for  it  is  the  most  gigantic 
and  powerful  of  any,  and  the  furnace  practice  is  the  most 
exacting.  The  treatment  of  the  steel  by  oil  tempering  has 


298  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE   CONGRESS. 

until  recently  been  peculiar  to  gun  metal  and  is  needful  in 
order  to  secure  the  desired  physical  qualities.  In  this  field  the 
Krupps  have  been  the  pioneers  and  have  kept  abreast  of  all 
improvements.  The  magnificent  process  of  Whitworth  for 
making  ingots  by  liquid  compression  is  no  doubt  the  most 
impressive  achievement  of  the  art  of  steel-making,  yielding  a 
piece  of  metal  of  such  supreme  excellence  that  we  are  almost 
tempted  to  believe  that  in  this  respect  the  ultimate  goal  of 
progress  has  been  reached  and  that  nothing  is  left  for  future 
inventors  to  attain. 

The  fundamental  improvements,  then,  which  constitute  the 
modern  as  distinguished  from  the  older  ordnance  are  :  (i)  the 
control  of  the  combustion  of  gunpowder ;  (2)  the  enlarged 
powder  chamber ;  (3)  the  initial  tensions,  and  (4)  the  employ- 
ment of  steel.  All  other  characteristics  are  merely  logical 
sequences  of  these  four  primary  conditions  or  antecedents.  The 
adoption  of  breech-loading  in  place  of  muzzle-loading,  the 
great  increase  in  the  length  of  the  gun,  the  building  up  of  the 
gun  by  shrinking  successive  cylinders  one  over  the  other  are 
all  consequences  of  the  four  principal  improvements.  The 
results  of  these  improvements  are  that  (weight  for  weight  of 
metal  in  the  gun)  the  energy  of  projectiles  has  been  increased 
four  to  five-fold,  the  effective  range  has  been  more  than  doubled, 
the  accuracy  of  fire  has  been  immensely  improved,  and  the 
penetrating  and  destructive  power  correspondingly  increased. 

The  discovery  of  gun-cotton  by  I^enk,  and  later  of  nitro- 
glycerin  by  Nobel,  followed  by  the  discovery  of  many  other 
nitro  compounds,  placed  before  the  world  a  series  of  agents  far 
more  forcible  than  gunpowder.  Their  treacherous  and  deto- 
nating characters  for  a  long  time  rendered  them  objects  of 
dread  and  real  danger,  and  gave  little  promise  of  utility  for 
ballistic  purposes,  though  for  mines  and  torpedoes  they  seemed 
to  offer  great  advantages  if  they  could  be  deprived  of  their 
treacherous  nature.  In  due  time  methods  were  discovered  of 
producing  high  explosives,  which  were  reasonably  safe  if  great 
precautions  were  exercised,  thus  placing  them  among  the  most 
important  and  useful  agents  for  industrial  purposes.  The  use 
of  them  in  torpedoes  also  became  practicable,  thus  placing  in 
the  hands  of  military  men  a  powerful  agent  of  destruction.  If 
it  were  practicable  to  direct  this  terrible  destroyer  (the  torpedo) 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  299 

to  its  mark  with  as  much  accuracy  as  a  projectile  from  a  gun 
it  would  be  incomparably  the  most  efficient  for  destruction  of 
any  engine  of  war.  But  the  uncertainty  of  all  existing  methods 
of  bringing  them  in  contact  with  the  ships  they  are  designed 
to  destroy  deprives  them  at  present  of  a  great  portion  of  their 
terrors.  But  the  chances  of  a  deadly  stroke  are  still  sufficient 
to  render  them  very  formidable  weapons.  Torpedoes,  how- 
ever, are  so  new  as  regularly  adopted  agents  of  warfare  that 
they  may  be  regarded  as  the  possible  forerunners  of  a  far  more 
terrible  class  of  destroyers.  In  this  connection  the  pneumatic 
dynamite  gun  of  Captain  Zalinski  presents  itself  as  offering 
great  possibilities.  It  is  now  in  the  experimental  stage,  and 
on  its  first  trial  has  shown  itself  capable  of  very  destructive 
work.  It  is  an  entire  novelty  and  a  very  bold  conception, 
wrought  up  with  a  profound  knowledge  of  mechanical  and 
ballastic  principles.  Its  ultimate  development  cannot  now  be 
foreseen,  but  it  holds  out  the  hope  of  such  great  possibilities 
that  every  effort  to  realize  them  should  be  made. 

The  use  of  high  explosives  not  only  as  the  bursting  charges 
of  projectiles  but  as  the  impelling  force  of  the  projectile  itself 
in  the  gun  is  receiving  attention.  Not  only  is  this  problem 
a  rational  one  but  it  is  a  very  hopeful  one.  If  we  can  succeed 
in  controlling  its  terrible  powers  and  taming  its  ferocious 
nature  and  can  provide  a  variety  of  it  which  will  keep  without 
deteriorating  the  problem  will  be  solved  ;  for  we  are  already 
in  possession  of  the  means  and  science  which  will  enable  us  to 
utilize  its  superior  energy.  Verily,  it  begins  to  look  as  if  the 
age  of  gunpowder  were  passing  away  and  were  soon  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  the  age  of  high  explosives. 

In  the  department  of  small  arms  the  great  improvements 
belong  to  the  last  forty  or  fifty  years.  The  improvements 
sought,  while  partly  the  same  as  in  the  field  of  heavy  guns, 
were  much  more  in  the  line  of  increased  rapidity  of  fire.  At 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  all  the  armies  of  the 
world  were  using  the  muzzle-loading  rifled  musket.  Many 
breech-loading  rifles  had  been  invented,  however,  and  were 
competing  for  favor  as  military  weapons  and  were  slow  to  find 
it.  Much  surprise  has  been  expressed  at  the  tardiness  and 
reluctance  of  military  men  to  adopt  breech-loaders  and  they 
were  often  reproached  and  derided  as  too  conservative,  pre- 


300  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

judiced  and  behind  the  age  in  the  development  of  their  ma- 
terial, when  they  ought  to  be  progressive  and  in  the  lead.  The 
answer  to  these  criticisms  is  that  while  there  were  numerous 
good  breech-loading  small  arms  offered  during  the  war  there 
were  no  good  breech-loading  cartridges,  and  no  machinery  for 
making  them.  Among  the  inexpert  the  musket  and  its 
mechanism  is  all  in  all,  while  the  cartridge  is  looked  upon  as  a 
minor  incident.  In  the  eye  of  the  ordnance  officer  the  gun  is 
only  the  casket  and  setting  while  the  cartridge  is  the  jewel. 
During  the  war  the  attention  of  officers  was  concentrated  in 
the  creation  of  a  good  cartridge,  while  the  problem  of  a  gun 
presented  no  real  difficulty  ;  none,  in  fact,  except  that  of  choos- 
ing from  among  a  considerable  number  any  one  of  which 
would  have  sufficed.  The  cartridge  problem  was  one  of  serious 
difficulty,  for  there  were  few  designs  to  choose  from  and  all  of 
them  more  or  less  bad.  It  was  recognized  at  the  outset  that  a 
serviceable  and  satisfactory  cartridge  must  fulfill  the  following 
conditions  :  ist.  It  must  comprise  bullet,  powder  and  prim- 
ing united  in  a  metallic  case  or  shell ;  2d.  It  must  be  center- 
primed  ;  3d.  It  must  not  be  liable  to  deterioration  ;  4th.  It 
must  not  be  liable  to  split  in  firing  nor  to  stick  fast  after  dis- 
charge nor  to  have  its  head  torn  off  during  extraction  ;  5th. 
Its  case  must  be  easily  made,  primed  and  loaded  by  machinery. 
While  the  inventors  at  large  throughout  the  country  were 
chiefly  occupied  in  improving  the  breech  mechanism  of  the 
gun  the  government  work  shops  were  most  deeply  concerned 
about  the  cartridge.  It  was  not  until  1865  at  the  close  of  the 
war  that  a  cartridge  fulfilling  all  of  the  required  conditions 
was  attained  ;  and  no  sooner  was  it  attained  than  the  machin- 
ery for  making  it  became  the  standing  problem.  It  was  neces- 
sary to  invent  this  machinery  almost  de  novo.  It  was  suc- 
cessfully accomplished  in  about  a  year  and  a  half,  and  it  seems 
necessary  here  to  pay  tribute  to  the  eminent  skill  and  inventive 
talent  of  Mr.  J.  G.  Gill,  the  master  mechanic  at  Frankford 
Arsenal,  Philadelphia.  He  devised  a  series  of  machines,  some 
of  which  must  rank  among  the  highest  triumphs  of  American 
invention.  In  a  few  years  all  the  great  powers  of  the  world 
had  adopted  them. 

The  achievement  of  a  good  cartridge  was   quickly  followed 
by  the  choice  of  a  gun.     The  choice  fell  upon  the  Springfield 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  301 

breech-loader.  It  has  had  many  competitors  of  admirable 
design,  some  of  which  certainly  excel  it  in  specific  points. 
But  in  the  full  and  general  test  of  serviceableness  it  has  kept 
the  field  against  all  rivals.  Competing  arms  have  been  re- 
peatedly placed  in  the  hands  of  troops  on  the  frontier  for  trial, 
but  the  preference  of  line  officers  for  the  Springfield  pattern 
officially  expressed  has  been  so  overwhelming  that  their  ver- 
dict could  not  be  set  aside  without  undue  presumption.  Its 
excellence  consists  in  its  reliability  :  nothing  except  extraor- 
dinary violence  ever  deranges  its  ready  action. 

The  day  of  the  single  breech-loader  is  about  over,  and  it 
must  very  shortly  give  place  to  the  magazine  gun.  Arms  of 
this  class  have  long  been  before  the  world,  but  have  not  until  very 
recently  been  adopted  in  any  military  service.  The  reason 
has  been  that  the  earlier  types  of  this  class  of  arms  sacrificed 
the  size  and  therefore  the  power  of  the  cartridge  in  order  to 
get  the  largest  possible  number  of  them  into  the  magazine,  and 
to  enable  the  infantry  soldier  to  carry  a  larger  supply  of  them 
without  increase  of  bulk  or  weight.  The  logical  solution  of 
the  magazine  problem,  however,  should  be  a  diminished  weight 
and  size  of  cartridge  without  decrease  of  power.  The  gun 
itself  is  no  longer  a  problem.  It  has  been  solved  for  several 
years.  There  are  many  excellent  magazine  guns,  though 
some  may  be  better  than  others.  The  cartridge  problem  is 
also  narrowed  down  to  a  single  issue.  If  we  are  to  diminish 
the  weight  without  loss  of  power  we  must  have  a  more  ener- 
getic and  compact  explosive  in  place  of  common  gunpowder. 
The  projectile  has  already  been  reduced  in  calibre  and  in- 
creased in  length  ;  but  we  are  not  sure  yet  of  the  high  ex- 
plosive. We  want  one  which  is  safe  against  accidental  ex- 
plosion andw  hich  will  not  deteriorate  with  keeping.  When  we 
have  obtained  it,  as  we  doubtless  shall,  the  solution  will  be 
complete. 

Machine  guns  constitute  an  innovation  among  the  weapons 
of  war,  and  are  characteristically  American  in  their  mechanism 
and  nature.  They  made  their  first  appearance  during  the  war 
of  the  rebellion  and  were  unknown  and  unthought  of  by  pre- 
ceding generations.  The  first  successful  weapon  of  this  class 
was  the  Gatling  gun.  It  was  rapidly  developed,  but  did  not 
reach  a  practical  stage  of  construction  and  operation  until  after 


302  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

the  close  of  the  war.  It  has  since  received  many  improve- 
ments, and  as  a  mitrailleur  still  holds  its  supremacy,  though  it 
has  had  some  ingenious  and  formidable  rivals.  Equally  im- 
portant has  been  the  development  of  a  rapid-firing  system  of 
artillery.  The  weapons  of  this  class '  have  a  very  limited  field 
of  utility,  but  within  that  field  their  potency  is  formidable. 
They  exhibit  well  the  tendency  towards  special  tools  for  special 
purposes,  which  is  characteristic  of  all  modern  mechanical  or 
industrial  progress. 

As  the  Nineteenth  Century  nears  its  end  we  find  the  arma- 
ments of  the  world  as  much  more  formidable  than  those  of  the 
first  Napoleon,  as  his  were  then  those  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans.  Nearly  all  of  this  great  advance  is  the  result  of  the 
last  forty  years  of  invention.  The  part  which  has  been  borne 
in  this  development  by  American  investigators  and  inventors 
will  not  only  compare  favorably  with  the  achievements  of  other 
nations,  but  will,  I  believe,  be  accorded  a  preeminent  position. 
No  discovery  or  improvement  can  be  the  secret  or  peculiar 
property  of  any  nation  in  these  days,  and  every  department  of 
mechanical  or  industrial  art  contributes  to  the  world's  store  of 
knowledge  all  that  it  discovers  and  draws  from  the  common 
stock  whatsoever  it  finds  in  it  suited  to  its  uses.  Upon  a  fair 
review  of  this  branch  of  development  as  a  whole  it  may  be 
said  that  the  United  States  have  contributed  as  much  to  that 
stock  as  any  other  country  in  the  world,  and  the  only  question 
is  whether  it  has  not  contributed  more  of  real  importance  than 
any  other. 

During  the  period  from  1872  to  1885  there  was  a  relaxation 
of  interest  on  the  part  of  Congress  in  military  matters  and  the 
War  and  Navy  Departmtnt  were  without  the  means  of  prose- 
cuting the  costly  experiments,  without  which  the  progress  of 
invention  in  this  field  must  be  retarded.  But  the  revival  of 
the  Navy,  and  afterwards  of  projects  for  sea-coast  defense, 
quickly  disclosed  the  fact  that  the  inventive  genius  and  pro- 
gressive spirit  of  the  country  had  been  merely  resting  a  little 
and  gathering  strength  for  the  opportunity  which  at  last  came. 
With  a  continuance  of  support  it  is  believed  that  in  a  very  few 
years  our  military  armaments,  both  afloat  and  ashore,  will 
surpass  those  of  any  country  in  the  world. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE   CONGRESS.  303 


THE  RELATIONS  OF  ABSTRACT  SCIENTIFIC  RE- 
SEARCH TO  PRACTICAL  INVENTION,  WITH 
SPECIAL  REFERENCE  TO  CHEMISTRY  AND 
PHYSICS. 

BY   PROFESSOR   F.  W.    CLARKE,  S.  B.,  OF  OHIO,  CHIEF   CHEMIST, 
U.   S.  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 


A  hundred  years  ago,  just  after  the  first  American  patent 
was  issued,  two  other  events,  fitly  to  be  mentioned  here,  be- 
came a  part  of  history.  In  1791  Galvani  published  his  famous 
book  on  animal  electricity,  and  at  about  the  same  time  the 
Royal  Society  gave  its  highest  honor,  the  award  of  the  Copley 
Medal,  to  Volta.  Between  these  events  and  the  passage  of  our 
first  Patent  law,  no  connection  was  then  apparent,  nor  for  many 
years  afterward  did  any  relation  become  obvious.  The  patent 
vSystem  dealt  with  affairs  of  practical  utility,  while  Galvani  and 
Volta  were  mere  visionaries,  prying  into  matters  of  only  specu- 
lative interest,  and  of  no  real  value  or  importance  to  anybody. 
Indeed,  Galvani  was  ridiculed  throughout  Europe  as  the 
"  Frog's  dancing  master,"  so  remote  from  all  material  con- 
siderations, so  useless  to  all  outward  seeming,  were  his  investi- 
gations. 

In  spite  of  ridicule  and  indifference,  however,  the  unpractical 
researches  went  on,  from  step  to  step,  from  discovery  to  dis- 
covery, until  at  last  they  ripened  into  invention.  Galvani  and 
Volta  had  worthy  successors — Oersted,  Ampere,  Ohm,  Fara- 
day, Henry  and  others,  all  devoted  to  knowledge  for  its  own 
sake,  and  caring  little  for  any  reward  other  than  the  conscious- 
ness of  achievement.  The  voltaic  pile,  the  galvanic  battery, 
and  the  electro-magnet  were  added  to  the  resources  of  science  ; 
facts,  principles,  and  laws  came  into  recognition,  and  suddenly 
a  relation  of  the  work  done  to  the  work  the  great  world  was 
doing  became  manifest.  Nearly  half  of  a  century  was  passed 
in  these  preliminaries,  and  then  came  the  inventions  of 


304  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   CONGRESS. 

electro-metallurgy,  of  the  telegraph,  and  of  all  the  hurrying 
swarm  of  wonders  that  mark  this  ' '  age  of  electricity. ' ' 
Suddenly  the  Patent  Office  became  a  centre  of  interest  in  what 
at  the  date  of  its  foundation,  had  been  apparently  remote  from 
its  purposes,  and  to-day,  grown  from  the  germs  of  a  century 
ago,  we  see  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  its  activity.  All  now 
know  the  merit  of  Galvani's  work,  and  yet  its  lesson  of  history 
is  far  too  seldom  realized.  Every  true  investigator  in  the 
domain  of  pure  science  is  met  with  monotonously  recurrent 
questions  as  to  the  practical  purport  of  his  studies,  and  rarely 
can  he  find  an  answer  expressible  in  terms  of  commerce.  If 
utility  is  not  immediately  in  sight  he  is  pitied  as  a  dreamer  or 
blamed  for  a  spendthrift  of  time  ;  for  the  questioning  man  of 
affairs  can  recognize  only  affairs,  and  to  him  speculations  not 
convertible  into  coin  of  the  realm  must  naturally  seem  profit- 
less. High  aims  count  for  little  or  nothing  ;  results,  and  tangible 
results  at  that,  are  wanted. 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  instances  in  illustration  of  my 
meaning.  For  example,  iodine,  discovered  in  1812  by  Courtois, 
was  for  many  years  a  chemical  curiosity.  Why  should  any  one 
waste  his  time  in  the  study  of  so  useless  a  body  ?  To-day  in- 
dustries unknown  to  Courtois,  born  since  his  day,  find  in 
iodine  one  of  their  most  necessary  appliances.  Photography, 
one  of  the  arts  in  which  iodine  is  useful,  itself  grew  out  of 
researches  which  were  seemingly  useless  when  made  ;  and  the 
camera,  its  most  essential  implement,  was  once  only  a  philoso- 
pher's plaything.  Investigations  which  had  only  the  pursuit 
of  truth  for  its  own  sake  as  a  justification,  brought  rainbows 
of  color  out  of  coal  ;  and  coal-tar,  not  thirty  years  ago  a 
nuisance  to  be  thrown  away,  is  now  a  source  of  profit  and 
prodigal  of  beauty.  From  the  same  hopeless  material,  through 
researches  still  unaimed  at  profit,  have  come  the  latest  and  best 
additions  to  our  materia  medica  ;  and  so  again  the  methods  of 
science,  as  applied  by  her  highest  votaries,  are  vindicated  by 
the  fruits  they  bear.  In  short,  every  department  of  invention, 
every  advance  in  civilization,  owes  much  to  the  student ;  no 
industry  is  independent  of  the  results  won  by  purely  abstract 
research.  Kven  the  most  trivial  details  of  modern  life  are 
affected  by  the  work  of  the  scientific  investigator  ;  luxuries  and 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   CONGRESS.  305 

necessities  are  alike  influenced,  and  so  obtrusively  evident  is 
this  truth  to  most  of  us,  that,  taking  it  for  granted,  we  daily 
ask — "  what  next  ?  "  Indeed,  our  gratitude  to  science  is  often 
manifested  in  that  cynical  form  which  has  been  wittingly  de- 
fined as  "a  lively  sense  of  favors  yet  to  be  received."  We 
expect  more  in  the  future  than  we  have  realized  in  the  past, 
and  as  the  marvels  of  the  last  century  become  commonplace, 
we  look  for  new  wonders  which  shall  be  even  greater.  The 
magic  of  the  Ancients  is  already  outdone,  and  still  the  tide  of 
discovery  has  not  reached  its  flood.  To  preserve  what  we  have 
gained  and  to  ensure  the  promise  of  the  years  to  come,  is  the 
problem  before  us.  Speaking  in  the  interest  of  future  inven- 
tion we  may  fairly  ask,  how  best  shall  the  work  of  investiga- 
tion be  furthered  ? 

It  is  an  old  saying,  and  one  partly  true,  that  what  has  been, 
shall  be.  We  may  therefore  consider  through  what  agencies 
science  has  heretofore  grown,  and  so  recognize  the  foundations 
upon  which  building  is  possible.  These  agencies,  briefly  sum- 
marized, are  as  follows :  First,  individual  enterprise  ;  second, 
schools  and  universities ;  third,  learned  societies  and  endow- 
ments ;  fourth,  government  aid.  L,ike  nearly  all  classifica- 
tions this  list  is  imperfect ;  for  it  represents  only  one  phase  of 
the  truth,  and  the  several  items,  far  from  being  distinct,  shade 
into  one  another  through  many  gradations  of  circumstance. 
Among  them  all,  individual  enterprise  comes  properly  first, 
for  without  that,  without  the  influence  of  guiding  spirits,  the 
other  agencies  must  fail.  No  great  work  was  ever  accom- 
plished without  the  personal  initiative  force  of  a  leader,  no 
"mute  inglorious  Milton,"  but  an  active,  earnest,  striving 
man.  In  a  restricted  sense,  however,  except  perhaps  as  re- 
gards the  beginnings  of  science,  individual  enterprise  is  the 
weakest  force  of  all.  To  the  modern  investigator  leisure  and 
opportunities  are  necessary  ;  in  chemistry  and  physics,  at  least, 
apparatus  and  laboratories  are  indispensable  ;  and  few  men 
working  alone  can  command  either  the  needful  time  or  the 
bare  material  resources.  During  this  century  nine-tenths  of 
the  great  discoveries  have  been  made  by  men  with  institutions 
back  of  them ;  through  the  aid  of  which  the  work  was 
rendered  possible.  Wealth,  scholarship,  ability  and  the  spirit 


306  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

of  research  too  seldom  go  together ;  and  happy  is  the  man  in 
whom  all  these  conditions  are  fortunately  united.  Under  our 
second  heading,  in  the  shelter  of  schools  and  universities,  the 
science  of  to-day  has  chiefly  been  developed. 

The  truth  of  my  last  statement  may  be  verified  by  a  refer- 
ence to  the  files  of  standard  scientific  journals  in  which 
original  researches  are  recorded,  or  by  scrutinizing  in  detail 
the  history  of  any  great  discovery.  In  either  case,  whether 
we  consider  this  country  or  Europe,  the  university  work  will 
-be  found  to  predominate  overwhelmingly,  and  for  obvious  rea- 
sons. Hvery  true  university  is  something  more  than  a  dis- 
tributor of  knowledge,  it  is  a  producer  of  knowledge  also  ; 
and  in  Germany,  where  the  university  system  is  most 
fully  developed,  the  two  functions  are  equally  recognized. 
A  German  student  aspiring  to  academic  honors  must  do 
original  work,  and  the  professors'  chairs  are  always  filled 
from  among  the  men  who  have  most  distinguished  themselves 
as  investigators.  A  chemist  who  had  done  nothing  for 
pure  science  could  hardly  be  recognized  in  Germany  ;  not 
one  of  the  higher  professional  positions  would  be  within  his 
reach  ;  erudition  alone,  unsustained  by  evidence  of  creative 
ability,  would  do  little  for  his  advancement.  In  consequence 
of  this  policy,  Germany  now  leads  the  scientific  world  ;  and 
in  consequence  of  that  leadership,  a  certain  industrial  su- 
premacy is  fast  becoming  hers.  One  example  will  serve  to 
illustrate  the  tendency  to  which  I  refer.  The  aniline  dyes 
were  discovered  by  Perkin,  in  England,  almost  thirty-five  years 
ago,  and  in  that  country  the  manufacture  began.  To-day, 
through  the  researches  of  the  German  universities,  Germany  is 
the  centre  of  the  coal-tar  industry,  and  England  has  only  a 
subordinate  rank.  Until  recently  the  English  universities  have 
slighted  experimental  science,  and  English  manufacturers  are 
paying  for  the  neglect.  One  German  firm  alone,  producers  of 
coal-tar  colors,  employs  over  fourteen  hundred  workmen  ; 
but  with  them  there  are  about  fifty  scientific  chemists,  every 
one  a  man  trained  in  pure  research,  the  product  of  the  uni- 
versity system.  These  men  are  employed  to  make  investiga- 
tions; to  improve  processes,  to  discover  new  compounds  of  value; 
and  in  short,  to  use  the  most  vigorous  methods  of  science  for 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  307 

the  upbuilding  of  industry.  The  German  manufacturer  does 
not  employ  a  chemist  who  has  only  learned  by  rote  the  wisdom 
gained  by  others ;  he  does  not  ask  to  be  told  that  which  he 
already  knows  ;  he  seeks  rather  to  push  forward  into  new  fields  ; 
to  excel  his  competitors  more  by  intelligence  than  by  brute 
force ;  and  to  gain  a  growing  supremacy  in  preference  to  a 
mere  victory  for  the  moment.  This  practical  policy,  the  out- 
growth of  intellectual  culture,  has  made  Germany  a  dangerous 
rival  to  all  other  countries  in  those  departments  of  industry 
which  rest  upon  scientific  foundations.  Applied  science  can 
not  exist  until  there  is  the  science  to  apply  ;  and  where  the 
latter  is  most  favored,  the  industrial  development  is  sure  to  be 
most  perfect.  This  lesson  is  one  which  the  United  States 
must  learn  more  thoroughly  than  heretofore,  if  it  hopes  to  hold 
its  own  in  the  front  rank  of  manufacturing  nations.  In  a  few  of 
our  universities  the  truth  is  already  realized  ;  but  in  too  many 
American  schools  the  so-called  ' '  practical ' '  view  prevails. 
Under  the  latter,  teaching  becomes  routine,  and  the  student, 
while  learning  elaborately  that  which  is  known,  is  not 
taught  how  to  discover.  He  has  little  or  no  training  in  the 
art  of  solving  unsolved  problems,  and  that  art  is  the  main- 
spring of  modern  industrial  growth.  A  teacher  of  science 
ought  also  to  be  an  investigator,  were  it  only  for  the  inspira- 
tion that  his  example  might  give  to  the  pupils  in  his  charge. 
To  impart  knowledge  is  a  good  thing,  but  to  reveal  the 
sources  of  knowledge  is  better,  and  in  that  relevation  is  found 
the  educational  value  of  research  regarded  as  a  part  of  the 
teacher's  essential  duty. 

The  third  agency  for  the  advancement  of  investigation,  the 
organization  of  scientific  societies,  shades  imperceptibly  into 
the  other  three.  Private  workers  and  university  teachers  here 
come  together  for  purposes  of  cooperation  ;  and  in  many  coun- 
tries the  associations  formed  are  aided  by  the  State.  As  a  rule 
the  great  European  academies  are  directly  or  indirectly  patron- 
ized by  the  government,  and  occasionally  endowments  are  be- 
queathed to  them  by  private  individuals  for  the  foundation  of 
prizes  or  medals,  or  for  the  assistance  of  research.  In  our  own 
country  the  societies  and  academies  are  sustained  by  private 
enterprises,  but  some  of  them  hold  endowments  of  considerable 


308  PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

value.  Partly  through  the  latter,  partly  through  the  stimulus 
to  effort  given  by  awards  of  honor,  and  more  largely  as  pub- 
lishers of  results  they  do  their  greatest  good,  and  render  to 
science  services  of  unmistakable  value.  A  large  proportion  of 
the  leading  scientific  journals  are  published  by  organized  socie- 
ties, and  without  these  discovery  would  oftentimes  be  dumb. 

Of  government  aid,  the  fourth  great  means  of  furthering  re- 
search, little  need  here  be  said.  Ostensibly,  such  aid  is  given 
for  selfish  motives,  since  every  modern  government  demands 
the  help  of  science  in  return.  Nowadays  no  government  could 
long  exist  were  it  deprived  of  all  the  resources  for  defense  and 
intercommunication  which  science  has  invented.  The  relation 
between  science  and  the  State,  therefore,  is  a  mutual  relation, 
and  each  needs  the  assistance  of  the  other.  In  Washington 
this  fact  is  manifest ;  it  is  recognized  in  the  organization  of 
nearly  every  administrative  department,  and  nowhere  is  it  more 
apparent  than  under  the  Commissioner  of  Patents.  From  sci- 
ence the  government  is  daily  receiving  benefits ;  to  science, 
therefore,  it  is  rightly  a  liberal  giver  ;  and  through  its  patron- 
age many  investigations  become  possible  which,  because  of 
their  magnitude,  would  be  beyond  the  reach  of  private  under- 
taking. Doubtless  the  time  will  come  when  the  scientific  re- 
sources of  the  National  Capital  will  be  concentrated  more  than 
they  are  now,  and  so  made  more  efficient ;  and  sooner  or  later 
they  should  be  crowned  by  the  establishment  of  a  National 
University  in  which  the  highest  and  most  productive  scholar- 
ship may  find  a  fitting  home. 

So  far  my  statements  have  been  tinged  with  rose  color.  The 
great  achievements  of  science  command  our  admiration,  and 
admirable  also  are  the  agencies  by  which  it  has  been  advanced. 
Still,  much  remains  to  be  done,  and  man}'  are  the  gaps  in  our 
knowledge.  Take  any  important  series  of  physical  data,  or 
any  well-defined  group  of  chemical  compounds,  bring  the  facts 
together  in  systematic  form,  and  the  strangest  deficiencies 
will  become  manifest.  Take  for  example  those  physical  proper- 
ties of  the  chemical  elements  which  are  capable  of  quantitative 
measurement,  and  not  for  one  of  them  are  the  attainable  data 
even  approximately  complete  ;  even  iron,  copper,  gold,  silver, 
and  mercury  are  but  imperfectly  known.  Were  it  not  for  theory, 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE  CONGRESS.  309 

that  apprehension  of  natural  law  through  which  science  can 
prophesy,  reaching  out  from  the  seen  to  the  unseen,  a  great 
part  of  our  knowledge  would  be  little  more  than  bare  empiri- 
cism, and  research  itself  would  lack  its  keenest  implement.  It 
is  common  among  ignorant  men — themselves  wildly  speculat- 
ive— to  affect  a  contempt  for  theory,  and  yet  without  theory 
science  could  not  exist.  All  great  discoveries  begin  with 
theory  and  lead  up  to  wider  generalizations,  upon  which  new 
researches  find  a  secure  foothold.  The  history  of  science 
teaches  no  more  certain  lesson  than  this. 

It  is  easy  to  find  a  reason  for  the  incompleteness  of  our 
knowledge.  Apart  from  the  vastness  of  the  field  to  be  ex- 
plored, itself  a  sufficient  excuse  for  ignorance,  the  more  ob- 
vious deficieuces  are  due  to  excessive  individualism  in  research. 
Thousands  of  earnest  men  are  working  independently,  with 
insufficient  reference  to  one  another,  each  attacking  that  corner 
of  the  unknown  which 'most  attracts  his  fancy.  All  are  am- 
bitious to  accomplish  great  results,  each  one  hopes  to  make 
some  discovery  of  signal  importance  ;  and  so  the  drier  and 
less  attractive  details  of  investigation  are  oftentimes  neglected. 
The  field  is  cut  up  in  many  fields,  between  which  the  ground 
is  uncultivated,  and  there  no  harvest  is  gathered.  To  sys- 
tematize research  ;  to  bring  about  cooperation  ;  to  erect  a  State 
out  of  a  scattered  people  ;  to  put  the  art  of  discovery  itself 
more  truly  upon  a  scientific  basis,  is  a  problem  for  the  future. 
In  the  final  solution  of  this  problem  the  practical  inventor  may 
help.  The  wealth  created  by  invention  should  serve  as  the 
organizer.  The  law  of  mechanics,  that  action  and  reaction  are 
equal  and  opposite,  applies  to  human  affairs  as  well  as  to  the 
physical  forces.  Hence,  since  scientific  discovery  makes  inven- 
tion possible,  it  is  clear  that  the  inventor  owes  to  science  a 
return.  That  some  of  the  harvest  should  go  back  to  its  source 
as  seed  is  not  an  unreasonable  expectation.  Indeed,  it  is  justi- 
fied by  history  ;  and  if  we  trace  back  to  their  origin  the  endow- 
ments of  our  universities  we  shall  find  that  the  successful 
inventors  have  done  their  fair  share.  What  more  is  needed, 
and  on  what  new  lines  ? 

In  the  science  of  astronomy  this  question  is  partly  answered 
already.  Every  endowed  observatory  is  an  institution  for 


310  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

research,  and  outside  of  that  the  observers  have  little  else  to 
do.  They  are  employed  primarily  to  gather  and  discuss  data, 
the  raw  material  of  science,  and  all  other  duties  are  secondary. 
In  the  solution  of  large  problems  several  observatories  may  co- 
operate, each  taking  a  definite  and  prescribed  portion  of  the 
field,  and  so  the  science  grows  symmetrically,  with  fewer  gaps 
than  exist  in  other  departments  of  knowledge.  Perfection  of 
work,  completeness  in  the  absolute  sense  of  the  term,  is,  of 
course,  unattainable,  but  to  that  ideal,  within  the  limits  of  its 
province,  astronomy  approaches  most  nearly.  By  its  example 
the  other  sciences  may  profit. 

Now  for  chemistry  and  physics,  institutions  should  be  or- 
ganized resembling  in  policy  the  astronomical  observatories. 
I  mean,  of  course,  endowed  laboratories  for  research  in  which 
the  greater  problems  could  be  effectively  handled,  and  im- 
portant data  determined  with  the  highest  accuracy.  The  more 
precise,  and  at  the  same  time  the  most  difficultly  measurable 
physical  constants  are  of  direct  value  to  industrial  science,  and 
their  determination  should  not  be  left  to  the  caprice  or  con- 
venience of  individuals.  They  represent  routine  work  of  the 
most  tedious  kind  ;  their  measurement  involves  the  highest 
degree  of  skill  and  the  most  elaborate  resources,  and  they  are 
the  foundation  stones  of  exact  theory.  They  are  needed  by 
pure  and  applied  science  alike  ;  and  yet,  under  existing  con- 
ditions, their  determination  is  but  scantily  encouraged.  They 
yield  to  the  investigator  results  more  solid  than  brilliant ;  they 
do  not  give  quick  returns  of  fame  ;  and  so,  other  researches, 
more  showy  or  more  profitable,  are  in  greater  favor.  With 
most  men  of  science,  unfortunately,  research  is  a  matter  sec- 
ondary to  other  duties  ;  the  professor  must  teach,  the  com- 
mercial chemist  must  analyze,  and  only  the  time  left  over,  the 
occasional  leisure  hour,  is  available  for  higher  studies.  Many 
an  able  man,  willing  and  enthusiastic,  who  might  otherwise 
benefit  mankind  by  investigation,  is  crowded  out  of  the  field 
by  sheer  necessity.  He  is  loaded  with  labors  which  leave  no 
time  for  research,  and  his  capacities  are  exhausted  in  mere 
routine.  For  such  men,  opportunities  should  not  be  altogether 
wanting. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  311 

Sometimes  the  kind  of  work  here  indicated  has  been  carried 
on  at  public  expense  ;  for  example,  the  classical  researches  of 
Regnault  upon  gases  and  vapors  were  maintained  by  the 
French  Government :  but  all  such  assistance  has  been  sporadic  ; 
while  the  investigations  needed  should  be  continuous  and 
systematic.  In  a  laboratory  endowed,  equipped  and  manned 
for  research  only,  a  rich  harvest  of  results  would  be  sure,  far 
exceeding  in  value  the  cost  of  the  undertaking.  No  such 
laboratory,  I  believe,  now  exists  in  the  civilized  world,  and 
the  United  States  might  well  have  the  glory  of  being  the  first 
organizer.  In  its  Patent  Office  it  has  led  all  other  nations,  and 
in  the  science  which  underlies  invention  it  might  lead  also. 
To  the  manufacturers  and  inventors  of  America  I  offer  these 
suggestions  in  the  hope  that  they  may  be  speedily  realized. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  313 


GENKRAL  WASHINGTON   AS  AN   INVENTOR   AND 
PROMOTER  OF  THE  USEFUL  ARTS. 

AN  ADDRESS  DELIVERED  AT  MOUNT  VERNON,  APRII,  10,  1891,  BY  J. 
M.  TONER,  M.  D.,  ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  VISIT  OF  THE 
OFFICERS  AND  MEMBERS  OF  THE  PATENT  CENTENNIAL  CELE- 
BRATION. 


It  is  fitting  that  on  an  occasion  like  the  present,  which  re- 
views a  past  and  forecasts  a  coming  century,  the  friends  of  the 
great  American  Patent  System  should  visit  the  tomb  of  Wash- 
ington. For  where  rest  the  ashes,  hovers,  methinks,  something 
of  the  spirit  of  the  man  whose  genius  and  valor  led  the  thirteen 
dependent  American  colonies1  to  independence;  and  whose  influ- 
ence, a  century  ago,  formed  them  into  one  united  Federal  Gov- 
ernment under  a  written  constitution  of  exceeding  wisdom,  of 
which  he  was  one  of  the  principal  authors,  and  under  which 
our  country,  our  patent  system  and  our  mechanical  inventions 
have  made  such  marvelous  progress. 

If  it  cannot  be  claimed  that  Washington  originated  the  idea 
of  recognizing  property  in  inventions,  he  was,  without  doubt, 
the  chief  exponent  of  the  views  and  sentiments  which  brought 
together  the  convention  of  delegates  from  the  several  States  to 
consider  their  future  well-being  and  to  form  a  more  perfect 
Union.2 


*  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia. 

2  Washington,  from  his  position  at  the  head  of  the  army  throughout 
the  war  for  independence,  and  his  frequent  correspondence  with  the 
Governors  of  the  States  as  well  as  with  many  of  the  more  influential 
citizens  of  the  several  States,  in  the  interest  of  the  army  and  to  secure 
supplies  for  the  soldiers,  was  led  to  a  more  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
feeling  of  the  people,  and  to  see  the  weakness  of  the  confederacy  more 
clearly  than  any  other  man  of  his  day.  Its  want  of  cohesive  as  well  as  want 
of  coercive  power  had,  to  his  mind,  demonstrated  its  defects  for  national 
purposes.  After  peace  was  restored  its  want  of  power  to  regulate 
commerce — foreign  and  domestic ;  to  make  treaties,  and  to  provide  for 


314  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

By  a  unanimous  desire  of  the  convention  General  Washing- 
ton was  called  upon  to  preside  over  the  meeting.  Through 
the  protracted  and  careful  deliberations  of  this  equal-rights  and 
liberty-loving  conclave  of  statesmen  was  evolved  our  written 
Constitution  which  has  welded  the  United  States  into  a  nation, 
and  which  has  so  admirably  served  us  for  a  century. 3  This, 


the  payment  of  debts  contracted  by  the  confederacy,  was  notorious  and 
created  great  discontent.  It  was  becoming  evident  to  thinking  men  that 
an  alarming  crisis  was  near  unless  some  effectual  remedy  could  be 
devised.  Washington's  sentiments  were  often  freely  and  strongly  ex- 
pressed upon  the  subject.  "  That  we  have  it  in  our  power,"  said  he,  "  to 
become  one  of  the  most  respectable  nations  upon  earth,  admits,  in  my 
humble  opinion,  of  no  doubt,  if  we  would  but  pursue  a  wise,  just  and 
liberal  policy  towards  one  another,  and  keep  good  faith  with  the  rest  of 
the  world.  That  our  resources  are  ample  and  increasing,  none  can  deny  ; 
but  while  they  are  grudgingly  applied,  or  not  applied  at  all,  we  give  a 
vital  stab  to  public  faith,  and  shall  sink,  in  the  eyes  of  Europe,  into  con- 
tempt. It  has  long  been  a  speculative  question  among  philosophers  and 
wise  men  whether  foreign  commerce  is  of  real  advantage  to  any  country  ; 
that  is,  whether  the  luxury,  effeminacy  and  corruptions  which  are  in- 
troduced along  with  it  are  counterbalanced  by  the  conveniences  and 
wealth  which  it  brings.  But  the  decision  of  this  question  is  of  very  little 
importance  to  us.  We  have  abundant  reason  to  be  convinced  that  the 
spirit  of  trade  which  pervades  these  states  is  not  to  be  restrained.  It  be- 
hooves us,  then,  to  establish  just  principles,  and  this  cannot,  any  more 
than  other  matters  of  national  concern,  be  done  by  thirteen  heads  differ- 
ently constructed  and  organized.  The  necessity,  therefore,  of  a  control- 
ing  power  is  obvious,  and  why  it  should  be  withheld  is  beyond  my  com- 
prehension." 

The  union,  as  at  first  organized,  was  fast  losing  respect,  as  it  did  not 
meet  the  exigencies  or  fulfill  its  purposes  ;  and  chaos  was  inevitable,  unless 
reform  was  speedily  effected.  The  mode  of  doing  this  engaged  Wash- 
ington's attention,  and  to  him  more  than  to  any  other  man  are  we  indebted 
for  the  Constitution  which  has  united  the  States  as  one  great  union. 

3  Sparks,  in  commenting  upon  this  period  of  Washington's  life  and  his 
part  in  the  evolution  of  the  Constitution,  says  :  "He  did  not  go  to  the 
convention  unprepared  for  the  great  work  there  to  be  undertaken.  His 
knowledge  of  the  institutions  of  his  own  country  and  of  its  political 
forms,  both  in  their  general  character  and  minute  and  affiliated  relations, 
gained  by  inquiry  and  long  experience,  was  probably  as  complete  as  that 
of  any  other  man.  But  he  was  not  satisfied  with  this  alone.  He  read 
the  history  and  examined  the  principles  of  the  ancient  and  modern  con- 
federacies. There  is  a  paper  in  his  handwriting  which  contains  an  ab- 
stract of  each,  and  in  which  are  noted,  in  a  methodical  order,  their 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS.  315 

our  magna  charta,  may  t>e  claimed  as  one  of  the  most  original 
and  beneficent  inventions  in  the  art  of  government  ever  devised 
to  secure  to  a  people  liberty,  regulated  by  law,  with  equal  jus- 
tice to  all.4 


chief  characteristics,  the  kinds  of  authority  they  possessed,  their  modes 
of  operation  and  their  defects.  The  confederacies  analyzed  in  this  paper 
are  the  Lycian,  Amphictyonic,  Achaean,  Helvetic,  Belgic  and  Germanic. 
He  also  read  the  standard  works  on  general  politics  and  the  science  of 
government,  abridging  parts  of  them,  according  to  his  usual  practice, 
that  he  might  impress  the  essential  points  more  deeply  on  his  mind.  He 
was  apprehensive  that  the  delegates  might  come  together  fettered  with 
instructions  which  would  embarrass  and  retard,  if  not  defeat  the  salutary 
end  proposed.  'My  wish  is,'  said  he,  'that  the  convention  may  adopt 
no  temporizing  expedients,  but  probe  the  defects  of  the  constitution  to 
the  bottom  and  provide  a  radical  cure,  whether  they  are  agreed  to  or  not. 
A  conduct  of  this  kind  will  stamp  wisdom  and  dignity  on  their  pro- 
ceedings, and  hold  up  a  light  which  sooner  or  later  will  have  its  influ- 
ence.' Such  were  the  preparations  and  such  the  sentiments  with  which 
Washington  went  to  the  convention."  (Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  I, 
P-  434.) 

4  The  attention  which  the  Continental  Congress,  in  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  and  the  notable  occurrences  of  the  Revolution,  merited 
and  received  from  historians,  biographers  and  painters,  has  been  so 
absorbing  as  in  a  measure  to  obscure  or  cause  to  be  overlooked  the  his- 
tory and  personnel  of  the  equally  important  convention  of  1787,  which 
drafted  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  The  claims  of  these  states- 
men to  the  grateful  remembrance  of  posterity,  if  judged  from  a  proper 
estimate  of  the  happy  Constitution  they  formulated,  rest  on  a  broad, 
just  and  honorable  basis.  The  beneficent  results  flowing  from  their 
judicious  labors  have  proved  of  the  highest  importance  to  America  and  the 
science  of  government  everywhere.  Indeed,  it  required  the  constitutional 
and  indissoluble  union  of  the  States,  devised  by  this  convention,  to  ren- 
der the  Declaration  of  Independence  of  practical  value  by  the  creation  of 
a  National  Government,  preserving  at  the  same  time  the  autonomy  of 
the  States.  And  yet,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  names  of  the  seventy- 
three  delegates  appointed  to  the  convention,  or  even  the  thirty-nine 
members  who  signed  this  precions  document,  are  to  a  great  extent  un- 
familiar to  the  public.  Properly  enough  the  names  and  the  portraits  of 
the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  are  known  to  nearly  every 
person,  because  they  have  been  treated  in  a  popular  manner  by  artists 
and  historians,  and  placed  before  an  admiring  public.  The  same  and  even 
greater  respect  is  due  to  the  framers  of  the  Constitution.  The  neglect  of 
the  personnel  of  the  constitutional  convention,  as  I  apprehend,  is  acci- 
dental rather  than  intentional ;  and  is,  at  least,  undeserved,  I  am  confident 
all  will  admit.  This  work  has  stood  the  test  of  a  century  and  has  proved 


316  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   CONGRESS. 

It  is  not  certain  who  introduced  the  proposition  regarding 
Patents  and  Copyrights;  but,  considering  the  personnel  of  the 
convention,  it  might  have  originated  with  either  Washington 
or  Franklin,  and  was  certain  of  an  earnest  support  from  both. 

This  was  the  first  assembly  of  law-makers  in  the  history  of 
the  world  to  reduce  this  conception  to  a  practical  formula,  or 
make  it  a  fundamental  principle  that  inventors  and  authors 
have  rights  in  their  inventions  which  should  be  recognized  and 
protected,  for  a  limited  time  at  least,  by  law.  This  conclusion 
they  embodied  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.5 

The  rise  and  development  of  the  American  Patent  System 
and  the  immense  influence  that  it  and  the  Patent  Office,  as  a 
repository  of  official  records  and  inventions,  have  had  in  pro- 
moting improvements,  not  only  in  our  own  country  but  also 
throughout  the  world,  you  have  heard  from  other  and  abler 


to  be  so  nearly  perfect  as  a  charter  of  human  rights  as  to  create  in  the 
minds  of  some  the  belief  that  it  has  many  of  the  qualities  of  an  inspired 
instrument.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  some  capable  writer  will  produce  a 
:good,  popular,  illustrated  history  and  summary  of  the  principles  of  the 
Federal  Constitution  as  crystalized  by  its  authors,  with  the  portraits  and 
biographies  of  each  of  the  members,  so  as  to  make  them  as  familiar  as 
.household  words  to  the  people  of  the  United  States.  An  acceptable  pic- 
ture of  the  convention  in  session  might,  with  great  propriety,  be  exten- 
sively used  to  the  same  end  as  an  object  lesson  by  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  on  its  legal  documents,  coins,  medals,  greenbacks,  letter- 
heads, etc.  This  highly  interesting  historical  convention  sat  in  the 
council  chamber  in  the  State  House  in  Philadelphia,  the  same  from 
which  emanated  the  immortal  Declaration  of  Independence.  George 
Washington  rilled  the  chair  and  directed  the  deliberations  of  the  body. 
His  seat  was  placed  beneath  the  carved  coat  of  arms  of  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania which  ornamented  a  high  panel  in  the  rear.  The  venerable  Dr. 
Franklin,  then  in  his  83d  year  and  an  invalid,  but  with  vigorous  intellect, 
was  carried  to  and  from  the  convention  in  his  Sedan  chair  which  he 
brought  with  him  from  Europe.  His  arm-chair  was  placed  on  the  left  of 
the  President  near  the  bar.  Judge  James  Wilson  sat  near  the  bar  on 
his  left.  The  other  members  disposed  of  themselves  as  they  found  it  con- 
venient. 

5  The  following  is  the  clause  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  which  secures  the  rights  of  inventors  and  authors  :  "To  promote 
the  Progress  of  Science  and  useful  Arts,  by  securing  for  limited  Times  to 
Authors  and  Inventors  exclusive  Right  to  their  respective  Writings  and 
Discoveries." 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  317 

speakers.  Here,  at  Mount  Vernon,  the  duty  has  been 
assigned  to  me,  near  the  close  of  this  brilliant  and,  I  trust, 
profitable  Patent  Centennial,  to  speak  to  you  of  the  great  Wash- 
ington as  an  inventor  and  promoter  of  improvements  in  the  arts. 

In  compliance  with  this  complimentary  assignment,  I  shall 
venture  to  claim  your  attention  for  only  a  brief  period ;  not 
but  that  much  could  be  said  confirmatory  of  the  fact  that 
General  Washington,  who  owned  these  broad  acres,  enjoyed 
this  magnificent  prospect,  and  for  half  a  century  dispensed  a 
most  bountiful  hospitality  in  this  revered  mansion,  was  ever 
on  the  alert  for  bettering  man's  condition  in  life  through 
education,  and  by  improvements  in  all  kinds  of  productive 
machinery  and  labor-saving  devices. 

While  it  may  not  be  claimed  that  George  Washington  is 
descended  from  a  line  of  inventors,  sages  or  heroes,  history 
confirms  the  fact  that  he  sprung  from  an  intelligent,  enterpris- 
ing, courageous,  self-reliant,  truth-and-labor-loving,  God- 
fearing stock,  who  were  in  their  day  and  generation  leading 
citizens  in  the  community  in  which  they  lived.  The  instances 
in  which  Washington  gave  encouragement  to  new  inventions 
are  numerous,  and  the  fact  is  beyond  question  that  he  invariably 
provided  the  best  machinery  for  his  mills  and  farms,  and  every- 
thing considered,  for  all  the  industries  under  his  control,  as  is 
testified  in  many  letters.6  He  also  had  a  kind  word  of  encour- 

6  The  following  letter  to  a  correspondent,  to  which  Sparks  adds  a  note,  in 
the  following  words,  vol.  x,  p.  68  :  "  The  Baron  de  Poellnitz  had  a  farm  in 
the  neighborhood  of  New  York,  where  he  tried  experiments  in  agriculture 
He  also  wrote  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject,  and  was  the  inventor  of  various 
agricultural  machines  and  implements,  particularly  a  threshing  machine 
and  the  horse-hoe."  NEW  YQRK  2g  Dec  ^ 

SIR  :  I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  26th  and  given  such  attention 
to  the  manuscript  which  accompanied  it,  as  my  obligations  to  public 
duties  would  permit.  I  shall  always  be  happy  to  see  experiments  in 
agricultural  machines,  which  can  be  brought  into  general  use.  Of  those 
in  your  possession  I  was  not  able  to  form  a  decided  judgment,  except  in 
the  instance  of  the  horse-hoe.  Of  the  utility  of  that  instrument  I  was 
fully  convinced.  I  propose  to  take  some  farther  occasion  of  seeing  the 
manner  in  which  the  threshing  machine  operates,  when  you  shall  let  me 
know  it  is  in  readiness  for  the  purpose ;  and  in  the  meantime, 
I  am  with  due  consideration,  etc., 

GO  WASHINGTON 


318  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

rgement  for  those  working  to  the  end  of  devising  new  methods 
and  improved  implements  in  any  of  the,  arts.  This  spirit,  along 
with  his  official  duty  to  see  proper  laws  enacted  by  Congress 
under  the  authority  of  the  Constitution  which  he  had  assisted 
in  drafting,  led  him  in  his  first  annual  message  to  commend 
measures  to  foster  new  and  useful  inventions  and7  doubtless 
gave  him  special  pleasure  in  signing  the  first  patent  law  enacted 
under  the  government  of  the  United  States,8  as  well  as  in  attach- 
ing his  name  to  the  first  patent  issued  shortly  afters  under  an 
act  of  Congress. 

JUxSt  one  century  ago,  George  Washington,  then  President  of 
the  United  States,  was  for  a  week  at  Mount  Vernon.  He  was 
then  setting  out  on  a  tour  through  the  Southern  States,  having 
made  a  similar  semi-official  one  of  the  Eastern  States  in 
October  and  November,  1789.  His  Diary  for  this  date,  a 
century  ago,  is  as  follows  : 

"  Thursday,  jth  April,  1791. — Recommenced  my  journey 
with  Horses  apparently  much  refreshed  and  in  good  spirits. 

' '  In  attempting  to  cross  the  ferry  at  Colchester  with  the  four 
Horses  hitched  to  the  Chariot  by  the  neglect  of  the  person 


He  made  many  enquiries  by  letters  to  his  correspondents  relative  to 
the  practical  efficacy  of  threshing  machines,  which  had  been  experi- 
mented with  both  in  Burope  and  America.  In  a  letter  to  Governor  Henry 
Lee  of  Virginia,  October  16,  1793,  he  speaks  hopefully  of  a  threshing 
machine  devised  by  Col.  Taliaferro,  but  which  he  had  not  seen,  but  had 
heard  good  reports  of  its  performance.  He  insists  the  machine  must  be 
simple  in  construction.  "The  model,"  he  says,  "brought  over  by  the 
English  farmers  may  also  be  a  good  one,  but  the  utility  of  it  among  care- 
less negroes  and  ignorant  overseers  will  depend  absolutely  upon  the 
simplicity  of  the  construction,  for  if  there  is  anything  complex  in  the 
machinery  it  will  be  no  longer  in  use  than  a  mushroom  is  in  existence." 

7  "The  advancement  of  Agriculture,  Commerce  and  manufacture  by 
all  proper  means  will  not,  I  trust,  need  recommendation  ;  but  I  cannot 
forbear  intimating  to  you  the  expediency  of  giving  effectual  encourage- 
ment as  well  to  the  introduction  of  new  and  useful  inventions  from  abroad 
as  to  the  exertions  of  skill  and  genius  in  producing  them  at  home,  and 
of  facilitating  the  intercourse  between  the  distant  parts  of  our  Country 
by  a  due  attention  to  the  Post-Office  and  Post-Road." — Washington's 
first  annual  message,  January  8,  1790. 

8  April  10,  1790. 

9  July  30,  1790. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  319 

who  stood  before  them,  one  of  the  leaders  got  overboard 
when  the  boat  was  in  swimmiug  water  and  50  yards  from  the 
shore — with  much  difficulty  he  escaped  drowning  before  he 
could  be  disengaged — His  struggling  frightened  the  others  in 
such  a  manner  that  one  after  another  and  in  quick  succession 
they  all  got  overboard  harnessed  &  fastened  as  they  were  and 
with  the  utmost  difficulty  they  were  saved  &  the  Carriage 
escaped  been  dragged  after  them,  as  the  whole  of  it  happened 
in  swimming  water  &  at  a  distance  from  the  shore — Provi- 
dentially— indeed  miraculously — by  the  exertions  of  people 
who  went  off  in  Boats  &  jumped  into  the  River  as  soon  as  the 
Batteau  was  forced  into  wading  water — no  damage  was  sus- 
tained by  the  horses,  Carriage  or  harness. 

"  Proceeded  to  Dumfries  where  I  dined — after  which  I 
visited  &  drank  Tea  with  my  Niece,  Mr.s  Tho?  Lee. 

"Friday,  8th. — Set  out  about  6  o'clock — breakfasted  at 
Stafford  Court  House — and  dined  and  lodged  at  my  Sister 
Lewis's  in  Fredericksburgh. 

"Saturday,  yth. — Dined  at  an  entertainment  given  by  the 
Citizens  of  the  town.  Received  and  answered  an  address 
from  the  Corporation  [of  Fredericksburgh]. 

' '  Was  informed  by  MT  Jn?  Lewis,  who  had  not  long  since 
been  in  Richmond,  that  MT  Patrick  Henry  had  avowed  his 
interest  in  the  Yazoo  Company ;  and  made  him  a  tender  of 
admission  into  it  wh*1  he  declined — but  asking,  if  the  Company 
did  not  expect  the  Settlement  of  the  lands  would  be  disagree- 
able to  the  Indians  was  answered  by  M?  Henry  that  the  C? 
intended  to  apply  to  Congress  for  protection — which  if  not 
granted  they  would  have  recourse  to  their  own  means  to  pro- 
tect the  settlement — That  General  Scott  had  a  certain  quantity 
of  Land  (I  think  40,000  acres)  in  the  Company's  grant  & 
was  to  have  the  command  of  the  force  which  was  to  make  the 
establishment — and  moreover — that  General  Muhlenburg  had 
offered  ^.1000  for  a  certain  part  of  the  grant — the  quantity  I 
do  not  recollect  if  it  was  mentioned  to  me. 

"  Sunday,  loth. — Left  Fredericksburgh  about  6  o'clock — my- 
self, Maj?  Jackson  and  one  Servant  breakfasted  at  General  Spots- 
woods — the  rest  of  my  Servants  continued  on  to  Todd's  Ordinary 
where  they  also  breakfasted.  Dined  at  the  Bowling  Green — 
and  lodged  at  Kenner's  Tavern  14  miles  farther — in  all  35  m. 


320  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   CONGRESS. 

Before  entering  upon  the  main  subject  of  this  discourse,  I 
shall  first  endeavor  to  recall  a  few  of  the  more  notable  traits 
of  character  in  the  boyhood  and  early  manhood  of  him  whose 
life  and  achievements  make  these  ancestral  possessions  on  the 
Potomac,  the  most  noted  and  dearly  loved  homestead  in  the 
world.10  A  consensus  of  the  most  careful  studies  of  the  life 
of  George  Washington  from  his  childhood,  represents  him  as 
mentally  and  physically  precocious — attaining  almost  his  full 
stature  in  his  iQth  year,  but  throughout  his  youth,  diffident 
almost  to  bashfulness — yet  men  of  experience  marveled  at  the 
maturity  of  his  judgment  and  his  knowledge  of  the  details  of 
business  in  general  and  public  affairs.  He  seems  to  have  had 


'°The  original  patent  for  the  land  embraced  in  the  Mount  Vernon  tract 
was  granted  March  rst,  1674,  by  Thomas  (Lord)  Culpeper  to  Col.  Nicholas 
Spencer  and  Lieut.-Col.  John  Washington  for  5,000  Acres,  located  at  the 
mouth  of  Little  Hunting  creek  on  the  Potomac.  They  made  an  equal 
division,  and  the  part  falling  to  John  Washington  descended  by  bequest 
without  subdivision  until  it  was  devised  in  parcels  by  Gen'l  Washington 
to  his  heins.  Mount  Vernon  has  never  known  other  owners  than  Wash- 
ingtons  until  200  acres  of  it,  including  the  tomb  and  mansion,  came  into 
the  possession  of  the  "Mount  Vernon  Ladies'  Association,"  which  has 
secured  the  tomb  and  home  of  Washington  for  all  time  for  the  people — 
as  a  memento  of  the  founder  of  the  American  Republic. 

TEXT  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  PATENT. 

'To  all  to  whome  these  p^sents  shall  Come  the  Owners  and  propryetr.s  of  all  that 
tract  and  Terrytory  of  land  in  Virginia  in  America  mentioned  in  his  Ma^fs 
letters  Pattent  under  the  Broad  Scale  of  England  bearing  date  the  Eighth  day  of 
May  in  the  Nine  and  twentieth  yeare  of  his  ....  Maties  Raigne  send  Greet- 
ing in  our  Lord  God  Everlasting  KNOWE  Yee  that  by  Virtue  thereof  and  for  and  in 
Consideration  of  the  yearely  Rent  and  Agreemts  hereafter  Expressed  and  Reserved 
Wee  have  Bargained  Sold  Released  and  Confirmed  and  doe  by  these  pfseuts  under 
our  Co0?  mon  Seal  Bargaine  Sell  Release  and  Confirme  unto  Coll :  Nicholas  Spencer 
and  Le*  Coll :  John  Washington  of  Virginia  in  America  ffive  thousand  Acres  of 
Land  Scituate  Lying  and  being  within  the  said  Terrytory  in  the  County  of  Stafford 
in  the  ffreshes  of  Pottomeeke  River  and  neere  oppositt  to  Piscatoway  Indian  Towne 
in  Mariland  and  neere  the  Land  of  Cap* :  Giles  Brown  on  the  North  side,  and  neere 
the  Land  Surveyd  for  M^  Wm  Grein  Mf  Wm  Dudley  and  others  on  the  South  side, 
being  a  necke  of  Land  bounded  betwixt  two  Creeks  and  the  Maine  River,  on  the 
East  side  &  to  by  the  said  Maine  River  of  Pottomeeke,  on  the  North  &  to  by  a  Creeke 
Called  by  the  English  Little  Hunting  Creeke  and  the  maine  Branch  thereof  on  the 
south  &  to  by  a  Creeke  named  and  Called  by  the  Indians  Epsewassou  Creeke  and 
*he  maine  Branch  thereof  which  Creeke  devides  this  Land  of  Grein  and  Dudley 


PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE    CONGRESS.  321 

no  frivolous  or  idle  boy-life.  When  a  lad  he  was  noted  for  his 
punctual  attendance  at  school,  for  his  application  to  study,  and 
his  ability  to  master  mathematical  problems.  He  was  strong 
and  agile  in  play,  and  a  leader  in  all  the  more  difficult  feats 
and  sports  of  climbing,  leaping,  pitching,  throwing,  etc.,  in- 
dulged in  by  his  playmates.  A  sense  of  exact  justice  was 

and  others  on  the  west  side  by  a  right  Lyne  drawne  from  the  Branches  of  the  afore, 
said  Epsewasson  and  Little  limiting  Creeke  including  the  aforesaid  Quantity, 
togeather  with  all  Trees  profitts  Comodityes  Emolum*8  and  Additions 

whatsoever  therein  belonging  All  manner  of  Mines  of  Gold,  Silver  and  Copper 
therein  only  excepted  and  foreprised  To  Have  and  to  Hold  all  and  singular  the 
p^mises  (except  before  excepted)  to  the  said  Coll :  Nicholas  Spencer  and  L* :  Coll : 
John  Washington  their  heires«and  Assignes  forever  Yieldinge  and  paying  therefore 
yearely  and  every  yeare  the  Rent  of  ffoure  shillings  of  Lawfull  money  of  England 
for  every  Hundred  Acres  and  soe  proportionably  for  a  Bigger  or  Lesser  Quantity  to 
the  said  propriet73  our  heires  and  Assignes  forever  upon  the  ffirst  day  of  November 
Com4?  only  Called  the  ffeast  of  all  sts :  att  the  Court  house  of  the  County  where  the 
said  Lands  are  scituate,  or  such  other  place  within  our  said  Terrytory  as  wee  or 
any  one  or  either  of  us  shall  derect  and  appoynt  from  tyme  to  tyme  The  first  pay- 
ing thereof  to  bee  made  on  the  first  day  of  November  now  next  ensuing  Provided 
allwayes  that  if  the  said  Coll :  Nicholas  Spencer  and  L*  Coll :  John  Washington  their 
heires  and  Assignes  doe  yearely  and  every  yeare  betweene  the  feast  day  of  st. 
Michaell  the  Archangell  and  the  said  ffirst  day  of  November  pay  or  Cause  to  bee 
paid  unto  us  the  said  Proprietor8  our  heires  and  Assignes  forever  the  yearely  Rent 
of  two  shillings  sterling  in  specie  for  every  Hundred  Acres  and  soe  p  portionably 
for  a  Bigger  or  Lesser  Quantity  that  it  shal  bee  taken  and  accepted  by  us  the  said 
proprietorf  our  heires  and  Assignes  in  ffull  satisfaccon  of  the  ffoure  shillings  above 
mentioned  Provided  alsoe  that  if  the  said  Coll :  Nicholas  Spencer  and  L*  Coll :  John 
Washington  their  heires  and  Assignes  shall  not  Plant  or  Seate  the  said  Lands  or 
Cause  the  same  to  bee  planted  or  Seated  within  the  terme  of  three  yeares  next 
ensuing  the  date  hereof;  that  then  this  Grant  &  everything  herein  Contayned 
shall  bee  void  and  Null  to  all  Intents  &  purposes  whatsoever  as  if  the  same  had 
never  beene  made  And  lastly  it  is  Agreed  that  this  Grant  bee  Registred  in  due 
forme  in  Virginia  aforesaid  by  the  said  Coll:  Spencer  and  L*  Coll:  John  Wash- 
ington or  their  Assignes  before  the  ffiyst  day  of  November  now  next  ensuing  In 
Witnesse  whereof  wee  y^  Sd  Proprietors  have  here  onto  fixed  our  Common  scale 
and  Caused  the  same  to  bee  Countersigned  by  one  or  more  of  us  in  the  Naime  of 
the  Rest  this  ffirst  day  of  March  In  the  27*^  yeare  of  the  Raigne  of  our  Soveraignc 

Lord  King  Charles  ye  second  &  Anno  Dom  1674. 

THO  CULPEPER 

It  is  probable  that  the  first  purchase  of  real  estate  made  by  George 
Washington  was  that  of  a  tract  of  unseated  land  embracing  550  acres, 
which  he  selected  on  the  Bullskin  early  in  his  visits  to  the  Shenandoah 
Valley.  He  received  a  deed  for  this  land  in  Frederick  County,  Va.,  from 
1/ord  Fairfax,  the  original  proprietor,  which  bears  date  October  25th,  1750, 


322  PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

developed  in  him  in  his  childhood  which  was  recognized  by 
his  school-fellows,  who,  by  common  consent,  on  occasions  of 
dispute,  selected  him  to  act  as  umpire,  and  unreservedly  acqui- 
esced in  his  decisions.  This  trait  of  weighing  evidences  and 
reaching  justice  he  had,  to  an  eminent  degree,  through  life. 

Among  the  early  notable  performances  of  Washington,  which 
have  come  down  to  us,  is  his  formula  of  maxims  or  ' '  Rules  of 
Civility  and  Decent  Behaviour  in  Company  and  Conversation," 
the  ground-work  of  which  was  probably  derived,  through  Haw- 
kins's translation,  from  the  original  French.  The  maxims,  as- 
recast,  he  recorded  in  his  copy-book  in  1745,  which,  with 
other  school  exercises,  is  preserved  in  the  Department  of  State 
at  Washington.  These  rules  do  honor  alike  to  the  head  and 
heart  of  him  who  had  the  genius  to  adopt  and  improve  them  ; 
and  though  Washington  entered  no  claim  to  originality,  they 
would  to-day  entitle  him  to  a  copyright  which  has  actually  been 
granted  to  two  aspiring  editors"  who  have  recently  published 
editions  of  them. 

The  consummate  control  which  Washington  habitually 
maintained  over  his  feelings,  so  that  judgment  might  be  his 
guide,  his  never-flagging  industry  and  strict  attention  to  duty, 
together  with  his  most  inflexible  principles  of  justice,  enabled 
him  as  nothing  else  could  to  deport  himself  with  undeviating 
propriety  and  dignity  on  every  occasion,  and  made  him  the 
great  leader  he  was. 

An  example  which  illustrates  the  early  tastes  and  accom- 
plishments of  Washington  is  found  in  a  few  plots  of  surveys 
and  topographical  sketches  made  of  the  Potomac  River  and 
lyittle  Hunting  Creek,  here  at  Mount  Vernon,  as  exercises  in 
surveying  while  visiting  his  half-brother,  Major  Lawrence 
Washington,  in  1747,  which  have  happily  escaped  the  de- 
structive hand  of  time,  and  may  be  found  in  the  Department 
of  State. 

The  practical  acquirements,  the  disciplined  habits,  the  ener- 
getic and  intelligent  application  to  business  affairs,  secured  for 
George  Washington  the  patronage  of  Lord  Fairfax,  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  Northern  Neck  of  Virginia,  who  had  met  him 

"  The  Rev.  Moncure  D.  Conway  and  Dr.  J.  M.  Toner. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  323 

repeatedly  at  ' '  Belvoir ' '  and  Mount  Vernon,  and  who,  seeing 
from  his  work  that  he  was  a  youth  of  unusual  ability,  engaged 
him  as  a  surveyor  and  factor  in  his  land  office,  which  was  then 
at  "Belvoir." 

Washington  set  out  from  '  *  Belvoir ' '  upon  this,  his  first  re- 
munerated employment,  when  he  was  just  one  month  over  six- 
teen years  of  age,  to  associate  with  practical  men  of  business  in 
a  business  way  and  to  discharge  important  and  responsible 
duties.  He  kept  a  diary  of  this  "journey  over  the  moun- 
tains," as  he  termed  it,  and  of  the  surveys  he  then  made, 
which  is  full  of  interest  and  which  is  at  present  in  course  of 
publication.  In  this  business,  he  acquitted  himself  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  Lord  Fairfax,  who  found  it  to  his  interest  to 
secure  young  Washington's  services  on  a  more  permanent  and 
extended  scale  in  connection  with  the  surveying  and  settlement 
of  his  lands  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  then  in  much  demand 
by  actual  settlers.  This  congenial  and  profitable  employment 
was,  however,  terminated  in  the  fall  of  1751  by  the  failure  of 
Major  Lawrence  Washington's  health,  and  the  necessity  of  his 
seeking  a  milder  climate  in  the  island  of  Barbadoes,  on  the 
voyage  to  which  place  his  brother  George  was  induced  to  ac- 
company him.  The  attachment  of  these  brothers  to  each  other 
had  been  especially  strong  from  childhood,  so  that  George  did 
not  hesitate,  for  a  moment,  to  sacrifice  a  lucrative  position  to 
discharge  a  fraternal  duty.  This  was  the  only  occasion  on 
which  George  Washington  was  ever  beyond  the  territory  of  his 
own  country.  During  this  journey,  as  was  his  custom,  he  kept 
a  diary  which  is  replete  with  statesmanlike  observations. 
This  journal  is  also  in  the  hands  of  a  publisher. 

During  the  summer  of  1751,  Major  Lawrence  Washington 
resigned  the  office  of  Adjutant  Inspector  of  the  Militia  of  Vir- 
ginia with  the  rank  of  major,  to  which  position  he  had  his 
brother  George  appointed,  with  the  pay  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  a  year.  This  was  George  Washington's  first 
military  commission.  With  his  usual  assiduity,  he  at  once  set 
to  work  to  inform  himself  of  his  official  duties,  and  to  acquire, 
by  study  and  drill,  the  knowledge  necessary  for  their  proper 
discharge.  To  this  end  he  employed  a  practical  drill-master 


324  PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

and  teacher  of  the  sword  exercise,  and  speedily  mastered  both 
manuals. 

When,  in  1753,  the  Governor  of  Virginia  wanted  a  man  of 
address,  courage  and  perseverance  to  execute  the  difficult  and 
hazardous  task  of  penetrating  for  several  hundred  miles  into  a 
wilderness  which  sheltered  many  hostile  savages  and  the 
armed  forces  of  an  unfriendly  foreign  nation,  all  voices  coun- 
seled the  appointment  of  Major  George  Washington  to  this 
embassy.  I  refer,  of  course,  to  the  occasion  of  Governor 
Dinwiddie's  serving  a  notice  upon  the  Commandant  of  the 
French  forces  at  Fort  La  Bceuf  that  they  were  trespassing 
upon  the  territory  of  His  Majesty,  the  King  of  Great  Britain, 
and  warning  them  to  depart.12  Washington  accepted  the 
mission  and  set  out  to  execute  it  the  same  day,  October 
3ist,  1753.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that,  at  that  time,  the 
whole  region  about  the  head-waters  of  the  Ohio,  and,  indeed, 
nearly  all  the  territory  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  in  Virginia  and 
Pennsylvania  was  nearly  an  unbroken  forest,  the  happy  hunt- 
ing grounds  of  hostile  Indians.  The  French,  it  is  true,  had 
made  a  few  but  no  very  considerable  settlements  in  the  great 
Mississippi  Valley,  and  claimed  the  territory  by  right  of  dis- 
covery. This  mission,  considering  the  time  at  which  it  was 
undertaken  and  the  difficulties  that  had  to  be  overcome,  must 
be  placed  in  the  category  of  heroic  enterprises,  while  the 
political  effects  flowing  therefrom  are  among  the  most  import- 
ant in  the  history  of  our  country.  vMajor  Washington  per- 
formed this  duty  with  such  promptness  and  good  judgment,  as 
to  receive  the  thanks  of  the  Governor  of  Virginia  and  his 

"  The  estimation  in  which  Major  George  Washington  was  held  by 
Governor  Dinwidclie  then  and  for  some  time  previous,  may  be  shown  by 
his  letter  to  the  Lords  of  Trade,  written  November  I7th,  1753,  *n  which 
the  Governor  said :  "I  have  sent  out  a  gentleman  of  distinction  to  the 
French  Camp  on  the  Ohio  with  my  letter  to  the  Commanding  Officer, 
to  know  the  reasons  and  by  what  authority  he  invades  His  Majesty  of 
Great  Britain's  territory  in  the  time  of  a  solid  peace  subsisting  between 
the  two  Crowns." 

And  in  another  despatch  of  the  same  date  the  Governor  of  Virginia 
writes :  "  I  have  commissioned  Mr.  Washington,  a  Major  and  one 
of  the  Adjutants  of  the  Militia  of  this  Dominion,  to  proceed  to  the 
French  camp,  etc."  (Colonial  Office  Records  of  Virginia,  1750 — 1780). 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  325 

Council.  He  kept  notes  of  his  journey  from  the  time  he  left 
Williamsburg  until  he  returned,  with  which,  when  referred  to 
by  Washington  to  refresh  his  memory,  the  Governor  was  so 
much  pleased  that  he  requested  their  author  to  write  them  out 
as  a  Report,  which  he  did  in  one  day,  and  they  were  immedi- 
ately printed  by  public  authority.  The  modesty  of  Washing- 
ton throughout  this  journal  is  as  conspicuous  and  character- 
istic of  the  man  and  his  heroism  as  his  diplomacy  with  the 
Indians  and  the  French  officers  was  admirable.  The  pre- 
tensions of  the  French,  as  set  forth  by  the  statements  of  their 
own  officers  and  recorded  in  this  journal,  brought  Major 
Washington's  name  into  prominence  in  all  the  discussions  in 
Great  Britain,  France  and  the  several  American  Provinces 
relative  to  this  trans- Alleghany  territory.  His  reputation  for 
sagacity,  courage  and  diplomatic  ability  had  thus  acquired 
international  celebrity.  Henceforth  he  was  a  factor  in  the 
politics  and  policy  of  the  nations  which  were  engaged  in 
maintaining  colonial  settlements  in  North  America. 

Washington  declined  the  chief  command  of  the  armed 
expedition  immediately  set  on  foot  by  Governor  Dinwiddie  to 
build  a  fort  or  forts  at  the  forks  of  the  Ohio,  as  recommended 
in  his  journal  or  report  to  the  Governor,  but  accepted  the 
position  of  second  to  the  Commander-in-Chief.  In  this 
service,  as  Lieutenant-Colonel,  he  won  the  distinction  of 
having  led  the  first  body  of  armed  American  troops  across  the 
Alleghany  mountains  to  reclaim  the  great  West  from  the  forest, 
the  savage  and  the  French.  The  death  of  the  Cominander-m- 
Chief,  Col.  Joshua  Fry,  occurred  at  what  is  now  Cumberland, 
Md.,  May  3ist,  1754,  while  he  was  en  route  to  assume  active 
command,  whereupon  the  whole  conduct  of  the  expedition 
devolved  upon  Col.  Washington,  who  was,  at  the  time,  at  the 
head  of  a  detachment  of  the  Virginia  Regiment  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Alleghany  mountains.  As  is  known  to  those  ac- 
quainted with  the  early  history  of  our  country,  the  battle  of 
the  Great  Meadows  and  the  capitulation  of  Fort  Necessity 
terminated  this  campaign  to  the  discomfort  of  Virginia,  the 
mortification  of  Washington,  and  the  great  disappointment  of 
Governor  Dinwiddie.  Washington  resigned  from  the  service 
in  the  fall  of  1754,  on  account  of  an  army  regulation  which 


326  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

denied  rank  to  Colonial  officers  when  serving  in  commands 
along  with  British  officers,  the  latter  holding  their  commissions 
from  the  King.1^ 

The  failure  of  the  Virginia  troops  to  establish  forts  west  of 
the  Alleghany  mountains,  led  the  British  Ministry  to  send  Gen- 
eral Braddock  to  America  in  1755,  with  two  regiments  of 
regulars,  which  were  largely  reinforced  by  colonial  troops,  but 
with  no  colonial  officer  of  higher  rank  than  a  captain,  to  drive 

*3  Military  rank  in  the  Colonies  at  that  time  was  not  founded  on 
either  justice  or  sound  policy,  and  was,  therefore,  at  times  the  occasion 
of  great  irritation  between  Colonial  and  British  officers.  Fort  Cumber- 
land, for  a  considerable  period  the  most  advanced  military  post  to  the 
westward,  while  on  the  border  of  Virginia,  was  actually  in  Maryland, 
and,  after  Braddock's  defeat,  was  garrisoned  by  thirty  men  under  Capt. 
Dagworthy,  under  a  commission  from  the  Governor  of  Maryland.  The 
captain  had  served  in  the  Braddock  Expedition,  under  a  commission  from 
the  King,  and,  whenever  opportunity  offered,  would  claim  this  old  com- 
mission to  entitle  him  to  rank  any  officer  holding  a  commission  from 
one  of  the  Colonial  Governors.  When  Washington  had  occasion  to  be 
at  Fort  Cumberland,  this  doughty  captain  would  place  himself  upon  this 
former  commission  and  pay  no  attention  to  the  orders  of  Col.  Washington. 

This  was  not  only  exasperating,  but  subversive  of  discipline  and 
efficiency  in  the  service,  which  Washington  was  determined  to  correct  or 
to  retire  from  the  service.  He  accordingly,  with  the  approval  of  all  the 
officers  of  the  Virginia  forces,  got  the  consent  of  Governor  Dinwiddie  to 
refer  the  whole  matter  of  rank,  as  it  affected  the  service  in  America,  to 
Gen.  Shirley,  at  the  time  Commander-in-Chief  of  His  Majesty's  armies 
in  the  American  Colonies.  By  request  of  the  Virginia  officers,  the 
petition  was  to  be  presented  to  Gen.  Shirley  by  Col.  Washington  in  person. 

Accordingly,  Washington  with  his  aide-de-camp,  Capt.  George  Mercer 
set  out  from  Williarnsburg  for  Boston  February  4th,  1756,  to  present 
their  petition  on  the  question  of  rank.  Washington  was  well  received  by 
Gen.  Shirley,  who  examined  into  the  matter  on  its  merits,  and  responded 
by  giving  a  pointed  order  that  Capt.  Dagworthy  should  be  subject  to 
Col.  Washington's  orders. 

But  this,  while  it  corrected  the  immediate  controversy,  did  not  solve 
the  real  difficulty  which  existed  in  the  army  regulations,  the  amendment 
of  which  required  the  action  of  the  Ministry.  The  subject,  therefore, 
continued  to  be  discussed,  and  petitions  continued  to  be  sent  by  other 
Colonial  officers  to  the  Home  Government,  representing  the  injustice  of 
the  rule  as  applied  to  the  military  service  in  America.  William  Pitt, 
while  Secretary  of  State,  in  1758,  in  a  spirit  of  conciliation  towards  the 
Colonies,  procured  a  modification  of  the  regulations  concerning  the  rank 
of  British  and  Colonial  officers  on  duty  in  the  same  service,  putting  them 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  327 

the  French  from  Fort  Duquesne,  and  hold  that  position  at  the 
head  of  the  Ohio.14  The  eminently  valuable  service  which 
Col.  Washington  performed  while  a  volunteer  aide  in  this  ex- 
pedition (for  he  held  no  command)  in  extricating  Braddock's 
shattered  forces  after  the  engagement  and  their  defeat  on  the 
Monongahela,  July  Qth,  1755,  is  a  part  of  the  history  of  our 


in  a  position  much  nearer  equality,  but  without  fully  reaching  it.  While 
this  allayed  somewhat  the  complaint  of  the  Provincials,  it  served,  never- 
theless, to  annoy  the  regulars. 

The  army  regulations  were  specific,  and  in  the  language  following : 
"That  all  such  as  were  commissioned  by  the  King,  or  by  his  general 
Commander-in-Chief  in  North  America,  should  take  rank  of  all  officers 
commissioned  by  the  Governors  of  the  respective  Provinces.  And 
further,  that  the  general  and  field  officers  of  the  Provincial  troops  should 
have  no  rank  when  serving  with  the  generals  and  field  officers  com- 
missioned by  the  Crown  ;  but  that  all  captains  and  other  inferior  officers 
of  the  Royal  troops  shall  take  rank  over  Provincial  officers  of  the  same 
grade  having  older  commissions." 

It  is  almost  inconceivable,  but  it  is"  nevertheless  true,  that  up  to  the 
campaign  which  drove  the  French  out  of  their  North  American  possessions 
not  a  Provincial  colonel  had  ever  been  asked  by  any  British  officer  to 
join  in  a  council  of  war.  The  Provincial  officers,  therefore,  even  to 
colonels,  knew  no  more  than  a  sergeant  what  was  to  be  done  before  their 
orders  came.  In  the  nature  of  things,  the  Colonial  officers  were  much 
better  acquainted  with  the  topographical  features  of  the  country  and  the 
difficulties  to  be  overcome,  than  any  British  officer,  or  a  stranger,  could 
possibly  be,  as  well  as  with  the  methods  of  warfare  peculiar  to  the 
Indians.  Yet,  these  and  other  potent  reasons,  and  the  further  fact  that 
the  Colonial  officers  were  fighting  on  their  own  soil  and  for  their  own 
firesides,  were  totally  disregarded.  It  was,  therefore,  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  Col.  Washington's  sense  of  justice  rebelled  at  such  a  regulation. 

H  E.  D.  Neill,  quoting  from  Peyton's  Reminiscences  of  General  Brad- 
dock  while  at  Williamsburg,  Va.,  1755,  gives  the  following  extract  from 
a  letter  written  to  the  General  about  this  time,  as  follows  : 

"  Is  Mr.  Washington  among  your  acquaintances?  If  not,  I  must  recommend  you  to 
embrace  the  first  opportunity  to  form  his  friendship.  He  is  about  twenty-three  years 
of  age,  with  a  countenance  both  mild  and  pleasant,  promising  both  wit  and  judgment. 
He  is  of  a  comely  and  dignified  demeanor,  and  at  the  same  time  displays  much  self- 
reliance  and  decision.  He  strikes  me  as  being  a  young  man  of  an  extraordinary  and 
exalted  character,  and  is  destined,  I  am  of  opinion,  to  make  no  inconsiderable  figure 
in  our  country." 

Mr.  Neill  says  that  Washington  was  at  a  dinner  given  to  Gen.  Braddock 
at  Williamsburg,  March  1755,  by  Gen.  John  St.  Clair,  his  Quartermaster, 
just  after  his  arrival  in  Virginia.— [  Washington  Adapted  for  a  Crisis — 
p.  7,  by  Edward  D.  Neill,  D.  D.} 


IWIVBB 


328  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE  CONGRESS. 

country.  His  conduct  and  bravery  in  the  emergency  met  un- 
qualified praise  alike  from  British  and  Colonial  officers  and 
men.  This  disaster  left  the  frontier  of  Virginia,  Maryland 
and  Pennsylvania,  for  a  time,  without  any  organized  or  ade- 
quate military  protection,  but  speedily  the  praise  bestowed 
upon  Col.  Washington  for  his  generalship  in  the  late  engage- 
ment assumed  the  nature  of  a  universal,  popular  demand  to 
Gov.  Dinwiddie  for  his  appointment  to  a  command  of  the 
Virginia  troops  for  the  protection  of  the  frontier  settlements. 
It  was  known  to  the  Assembly,  the  Governor  and  his  Council, 
that  Washington  had  retired  from  the  service  solely  on  account 
of  the  military  regulations  discriminating  in  rank  against 
Colonial  officers.  It  was  also  known  he  would  not  again 
accept  command  unless  his  rank  should  be  respected.  rs  As 
the  corps  about  to  be  organized  was  to  consist  wholly  of 

X5  Washington  bore  with  dignity  the  slight  the  Governor  perpetrated 
in  reducing  his  command,  which  he  knew  at  the  time,  would  cause  the 
Colonel  to  resign  his  commission.  He  had  made  great  personal  sacrifices 
to  serve  his  country  in  the  military  line,  but  never  received  proper 
encouragement  from  Gov.  Dinwiddie.  The  following  extract  from  a 
letter  to  his  brother  Augustine,  written  August  2d,  1755,  shortly  after 
Gen.  Braddock's  defeat,  shows  both  his  courage  and  his  sense  of  justice  ; 
he  says  :  "I  can  nevertheless  assure  you,  and  others  '  whom  it  may  con- 
cern '  (to  borrow  a  phrase  from  Goverour  Innes)  that  I  am  so  little  dis- 
pirited at  what  has  happened,  I  am  always  ready,  and  always  willing,  to 
render  my  Country  any  Services  that  I  am  capable  of  but  never  upon  the 
Terms  I  have  done  ; — having  suffered  much  in  my  private  Fortune,  besides 
impairing  one  of  the  best  of  constitutions. — 

"I  was  employed  to  go  a  Journey  in  the  Winter  (when  I  believe,  few 
or  none  would  have  undertaken  it),— and  what  did  I  get  by  it? — My 
expences  borne  ! — I  then  was  appointed,  with  trifling  Pay,  to  conduct  a 
hand-full  of  Men  to  the  Ohio  ;  —What  did  I  get  by  that?  Why,  after  put- 
ting myself  to  a  considerable  expence,  in  equipping  and  providing  neces- 
saries for  the  Campaign,  I  went  out — was  soundly  beaten — lost  them  all  \ 
— came  in  and  had  my  Commission  taken  from  me,  or,  in  other  words, 
my  command  reduced,  under  pretence  of  an  Order  from  Home  !  —I  then 
went  out  a  Volunteer  with  Gen.  Braddock,  and  lost  all  my  Horses  and 
many  other  things.  But  being  a  voluntary  act,  I  ought  not  to  have  men- 
tioned this ;  nor  should  I  have  done  it  was  it  not  to  shew  that  I  have 
been  upon  the  losing  order  ever  since  I  entered  the  service,  which  is  now 
nearly  two  years.  So  that  I  think  I  cannot  be  blamed  should  I,  if  I  leave 
my  family  again,  endeavor  to  do  it  upon  such  terms  as  to  prevent  my 
suffering — to  gain  by  it  being  the  least  of  my  expectations." 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  329 

Virginia  Provincial  forces,  no  controversy,  it  was  thought, 
could  arise  as  to  rank  ;  and  with  this  understanding  and  an 
earnest  desire  on  Washington's  part  to  serve  his  country,  he 
accepted  the  appointment.  The  Assembly  promptly  voted 
,£40,000  to  raise  and  equip  troops.  This  was  the  largest  sum 
Virginia  had  ever  appropriated  for  this  service. 

Washington  was  commissioned  by  the  Governor,  August 
i4th,  1755,  Colonel  of  the  Virginia  forces,  to  be  immediately 
raised  to  build  forts  and  protect  the  people  on  the  frontier 
against  the  incursions  of  the  Indians.16  He  accepted  the 
appointment  and  continued  at  the  head  of  the  Virginia  forces 
until  the  French  were,  by  the  Forbes  Expedition,  in  which 
Washington  took  a  conspicuous  and  honorable  part,  obliged 
to  abandon  Fort  Duquesne  in  the  Fall  of  1758.  I  have  dwelt 
somewhat  in  detail  upon  this  early  period  of  Washington's  life 
because  these  were  the  years  in  which  he  was  acquiring  mili- 
tary experience  and  ripening,  by  study  and  reflection,  into  the 
grandest  military  character  and  philosophic  statesman  the 
world  has  ever  produced. 

In  July,  1758,  while  with  his  regiment  in  the  field,  he  was 
elected  from  Frederick  county  to  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Bur- 
gesses of  Virginia.  His  favorite  project,  the  driving  of  the 
French  from  Fort  Duquesne,  having  now  been  accomplished, 
he  felt  at  liberty  to  resign  his  command  in  the  army  ;  which  he 
did  in  December  of  this  year. 

Early  in  January,  1759,  he  was  married,  and  in  April, 
shortly  after^  the  adjournment  of  the  Assembly,  he  brought 

16  Washington's  letter  to  his  mother,  at  the  time,  on  this  subject  fully 
represents  his  position,  and  is  here  given  in  full : 

"  To  MRS  WASHINGTON, 

Near  Fredericksburgh, 

HOND  MADAM— 

"  If  it  is  in  my  power  to  avoid  going  to  the  Ohio  again,  I  shall ;  but  if  the  command 
is  pressed  upon  me,  by  the  general  voice  of  the  country, — and  offered  upon  such  terms 
as  can  not  be  objected  against, — it  would  reflect  dishonour  upon  me  to  refuse  it;  and 
that  I  am  sure  must  or  ought  to  give  you  greater  uneasiness,  than  my  going  in  an 
honorable  command  ;  for  upon  no  other  terms  Svill  I  accept  it — At  present  I  have  no 
proposals  made  to  me,  nor  have  I  any  advice  of  such  an  intention,  except  from  present 
hands. 

I  am.  Dr  Madam,  &c., 

MOUNT  VERNON, 

August  i4th,  1755." 


From  draft  and  transcript  in  the  Department  of  State. 


330  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

his  wife  to  Mount  Vernon.1?  It  was  not  until  after  his  retire- 
ment from  the  army  and  his  marriage  that  Washington  was 
able  to  give  much  personal  attention  to  the  management  of  his 
estate.  His  brother,  John  Augustine,  in  his  absence,  had 
looked  after  his  servants  and  his  plantations  to  the  best  of  his 
ability.18 

i?  The  following  account  of  the  personal  appearance  of  Col.  George 
Washington  is  given  in  a  letter  by  Capt.  George  Mercer  to  a  friend  in 
England  in  1760.  This  copy  was  taken  by  the  writer,  from  a  copy  in  the 
possession  of  Col.  Lewis  W.  Washington,  of  "Bell-air,"  near  Hall  Town, 
Jefferson  county,  West  Virginia,  1855  : 

"Although  distrusting  my  ability  to  give  an  adequate  account  of  the  personal  apear- 
ance  of  Col.  George  Washington,  late  Commander  of  the  Virginia  Provincial  troops, 
I  shall,  as  you  request,  attempt  the  portraiture.  He  may  be  described  as  being  as 
straight  as  an  Indian,  measuring  six  feet  two  inches  in  his  stockings,  and  weighing 
175  pounds  when  he  took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Burgesses  in  1759.  His  frame  is 
padded  with  well-developed  muscles,  indicating  great  strength.  His  bones  and  joints 
are  large,  as  are  his  feet  and  hands.  He  is  wide  shouldered,  but  has  not  a  deep  or 
round  chest ;  is  neat  waisted,  but  is  broad  across  the  hips,  and  has  rather  long  legs  and 
arms.  His  head  is  well  shaped  though  not  large,  but  is  gracefully  poised  on  a  superb 
neck.  A  large  and  straight  rather  than  a  prominent  nose  ;  blue-gray  penetrating  eyes, 
which  were  widely  separated  and  overhung  by  a  heavy  brow.  His  face  is  long  rather 
than  broad,  with  high  round  cheek  bones,  and  terminates  in  a  good  firm  chin.  He 
has  a  clear  though  rather  colorless  pale  skin,  which  burns  with  the  sun.  A  pleasing, 
benevolent,  though  a  commanding  countenance,  dark  brown  hair,  which  he  wears  in  a 
cue.  His  mouth  is  large  and  generally  firmly  closed,  but  which  from  time  to  time  dis- 
closes some  defective  teeth.  His  features  are  regular  and  placid,  with  all  the  muscles 
of  his  face  under  perfect  control,  though  flexible  and  expressive  of  deep  feeling  when 
moved  by  emotions.  In  conversation  he  looks  you  full  in  the  face,  is  deliberate,  defer" 
ential  and  engaging.  His  voice  is  agreeable  rather  than  strong.  His  demeanor  at  all 
times  composed  and  dignified.  His  movements  and  gestures  are  graceful,  his  walk 
majestic,  and  he  is  a  splendid  horseman." 

ifiThe  estate  of  Mount  Vernon,  or  about  4,000  acres  of  it,  was 
bequeathed  by  General  Washington  to  his  nephew,  Judge  Bushrod 
Washington,  son  of  his  brother,  John  Augustine,  in  the  following 
language:  "Partly  in  consideration  of  an  intimation  to  his  deceased 
father,  while  we  were  both  bachelors,  and  he  had  kindly  undertaken  to 
superintend  my  estate  during  my  military  services  in  the  former  war 
between  Great  Britain  and  France,  that  if  I  should  fall  therein  Mount 
Vernon,  then  less  extensive  in  domain  than  at  present,  should  become 
his  property."  On  Justice  Washington's  decease,  without  children,  he 
left  it  to  his  nephew,  John  Augustine,  who,  by  will,  left  it  to  his  widow, 
who  conveyed  it  to  her  son  John  Augustine,  who  sold  two  hundred  acres 
including  the  mansion  and  the  tomb  to  "The  Ladies' Mount  Vernon 
Association  of  the  Union."  To  them  the  country  owes  a  debt  of  grati- 
tude for  the  excellent  condition  in  which  everything  relating  to  the 
home  of  Washington  is  kept.  Perhaps  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  ladies 
only  could  manage  Mount  Vernon  so  as  to  keep  it  free  from  politics, 
faction  and  peculation.  Under  their  care  it  is  annually  growing  in 
the  affections  of  a  grateful  and  patriotic  people. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  331 

From  his  youth,  Washington  was  in  the  habit  of  taking 
notes  and  making  memorandums  in  pocket  note-books  of 
whatever  interested  him,  especially  when  engaged  in  expedi- 
tions or  when  making  experiments.  These  memorandums 
assumed  in  time,  but  perhaps  unconsciously  to  their  author, 
the  character  of  diaries.  Of  those  which  have  escaped  destruc- 
tion, some  are  preserved  in  the  Department  of  State,  others  in 
private  and  public  libraries,  and  all  are  held  as  highly-prized 
relics.  Copies  of  all  the  Washington  Diaries  and  Journals, 
known  to  exist,  have  been  transcribed  with  literal  exactness 
for  the  writer  and  are  now  in  his  possession. 

In  his  Diary  for  1760,  Washington  notes,  very  briefly,  the 
events  occurring  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  especially  matters 
relating  to  the  management  of  his  plantations.  These  memo- 
randums, brief  as  they  are,  show  that  he  was  giving  close 
attention  to  the  improvement  of  his  estates.  His  personal 
supervision  was  only  interrupted  by  occasional  visits  to 
Williamsburg  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  Assembly.  The 
following  extract  from  his  Diary,  at  this  period,  gives  a  good 
example,  not  only  of  his  love  of  agriculture,  but  in  especial 
manner  shows  his  ingenuity  and  fertility  of  invention  and 
desire  to  improve  the  implements  of  husbandry. 

"Thursday^  Mar.  61*1*  1760 — Fitted  a  two-eyed  plow  instead 
of  a  duck-bill  plow,  and  with  much  difficulty  made  my  chariot 
wheel-horse  plow." 

* '  Wednesday,  Mar.  19**  —  *  *  *  Peter  (my  smith)  and 
I  after  several  efforts  to  make  a  plow  after  a  new  model,  partly 
of  my  own  contriving,  was  feign  to  give  it  out,  at  least  for  the 
present. ' ' 

March  2is.t  Washington  records  the  fact  that  he  had  this  day 
grafted  41  cherry-tree  grafts,  12  magnum  bonum  plums  and 
planted  4  nuts  of  the  Mediterranean  pine  : — "  The  cherrys  and 
plumb  came  from  Col.  Mason's,  the  nuts  from  Mr  Green's." 

To  the  close  of  the  month  of  March,  the  diary  shows  that  he 
was  daily  grafting  and  planting  fruit  trees  to  the  number  of 
several  hundred.  For  many  years  his  diaries  show  that  in  the 
months  of  February  and  March  he  was  much  occupied  in  set- 
ting out  and  grafting  choice  fruit. 

" Monday ',  Mar.  24.'!*  *  *  *  In  digging  earth  for  the 
purpose  of  repairing  my  mill-dam,  great  quantities  of  marie 


332  PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE   CONGRESS. 

or  Fuller's  earth  appeared.  In  the  evening,  in  a  bed  that  had 
been  prepared  with  a  mixture  of  dung  on  Saturday  last,  I 
sowed  choice  Lucerne  and  Rye  grass  seeds,  in  the  garden,  to 
try  their  goodness,  doing  it  in  the  following  order.  At  the  end 
next  the  corner  were  two  rows  of  clover-seed  ;  in  the  3d'  4th» 
5*?  and  6th*  rye  grass ;  the  last  row  thinnest.  Sowed  7*?  and 
S1.11  barley  (to  see  if  it  would  come  up,)  the  last  also  thinnest 
sown;  9th  ioth<  nth>  12^' Lucerne,  the  next  thicker  and  so 
on  to  the  last,  wch  was  very  thick." 

' '  Wednesday,  Mar.  26** ..  *  *  *  Spent  the  greater  part 
of  the  day  in  making  a  new  plow  of  my  own  invention." 

"  Thursday,  Mar.  2?th.<  1760.  *  *  *  Set  my  plow  to 
work  and  found  she  answered  very  well  in  the  lower  pasture, 
wch  I  this  day  began  plowing  with  the  large  bay  mare  and 
Rankin.  *  *  *  Agreed  to  give  MT-  W™  Triplet  ^18  to 
build  me  two  houses  in  the  front  of  my  house  (plastering  them 
also)  and  running  walls  for  palisades  to  them  from  the  great 
house  and  from  the  great  house  to  the  wash-house  and  kitchen 
also.1? 


19 The  Mansion  House,  during  Lawrence  Washington's  life,  stood  by 
itself.  When  George  became  its  possessor  but  little  improvement  in 
buildings  was  made  until  after  his  marriage,  then  a  number  of  out- 
houses were  added  and  the  grounds  and  gardens  brought  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Colonel's  aesthetical  eye.  For  the  purpose  of  syste- 
matic management,  the  Mount  Vernon  estate  was  divided  into  the 
Mansion  House  Farm,  of  450  acres  and  large  bounds  of  woodland  ;  the 
River  Farm,  of  1,800  acres  ;  the  Union  Farm,  of  841  acres  ;  the  Dogue 
Run  Farm,  of  1,076  acres,  and  the  Muddy  Hole  Farm  of  886  acres — a 
domain  of  nearly  4,500  acres. 

^  The  following  memorandum,  in  General  Washington's  handwriting, 
is  preserved  among  his  miscellaneous  papers  in  the  Department  of  State, 
and  gives  the  size  and  names  of  all  of  the  detached  buildings  existing  at 
Mount  Vernon  in  1799.  The  enumeration  of  windows  and  panes  of 
glass  in  each  of  the  houses  would  seem  to  have  some  relation  to  a  tax 
levy: 

"  List  of  Houses  at  Mount  Vernon,  as  taken  by  M^  Dulan  (one  of  the  Assessors), 
the  9*k  instant  on  the  Premises ; 

Dwelling  House  96  feet  by  32,  of  Wood  ;  2  Stories  high. 


No.  of  Windows. 
6            

No.  of  Paynes  in  each. 

18 

Total. 

1  08 

6 

•j  .   . 

...                                12 

'   '•   S 

8 

JC 

I  

'        62        ' 

.  .             62 

2                                 .     . 

16 

6  

18  

'iis 

....                           12 

1  08 

IO  

2  

18  . 

16 

.1  . 

5 

PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  333 

"  Saturday  ,  April  5  .  *  *  *  Made  another  plow,  the  same 
as  my  former,  except  that  it  has  two  eyes  and  the  other  one.  '  ' 

1  '  Monday,  April  14  '*•  Fine  warm  day,  wind  so'  ly  ,  and  clear  till 
the  even'g,  when  it  clouded  ;  no  fish  were  to  be  catched  to-day 
neither.  Mixed  my  composts  in  a  box  with  ten  apartments  in 
the  following  manner,  viz.  in  N?-  i  is  three  pecks  of  earth 
brought  from  below  the  hill  out  of  the  46  acre  field  without  any 
mixture.  In  N?-  2  is  two  pecks  of  sand  earth  and  one  of  marie 
taken  out  of  the  said  field,  which  marie  seem'd  a  little  inclined 
to  sand.  3  has  2  pecks  of  sd  earth  and  i  of  river  side  sand. 

4  has  a  peck  of  Horse  Dung. 

5  has  mud  taken  out  of  the  creek. 

6  has  cow  dung. 

7  marie  from  the  Gulleys  on  the  hill  side,  wch  seem'd  to  be 
purer  than  the  other. 

8  sheep  dung. 

9  Black  mould  taken  out  of  the  Pocoson  on  the  creek  side. 

10  Clay  got  just  below  the  garden. 

All  mixed  with  the  same  quantity  and  sort  of  earth  in  the 
most  effective  manner  by  reducing  the  whole  to  a  tolerable 
degree  of  fineness  and  rubbing  them  well  together  on  a  cloth.  In 
each  of  these  divisions  were  planted  three  grains  of  wheat,  3  of 
oats,  and  as  many  of  barley,  all  of  equal  distances  in  Rows  and 
of  equal  depth  done  by  a  machine  made  for  the  purpose.  The 
wheat  rows  are  next  the  numbered  side,  the  oats  in  the  middle, 
and  the  barley  on  the  side  next  the  upper  part  of  the  garden. 
Two  or  three  hours  after  sowing  in  this  manner,  and  about  an 
hour  before  sunset  I  watered  them  all  equally  alike  with  water 

"  Kitchen  .................   .   ...........    ,  (40  by  20 

Servants  Hall  ..........................  (.40  —  20 

Gardners  house  ..........................  26  —  16 

Store  house  ............................  26  —  16 

Smoke    house    ..........................  *i6  —  16 

Wash  house  ............................  20  —  16 

Coach  house  ............................  20—16 

Stable  ..............................  SA  —  36 

Salt  house    ............................  16  —  16 

Spinning  house  ..........................  38  —  18 


Ice  house  ..............  within  arch   ........     12  —  12 

G?  WASHINGTON. 

MOUNT  VERNON, 

/j  March,  1799. 


4-  Measured  since  M?  Dulan  took  the  account. 
*  This  building  is  added  to  the  Assessors  Report.' 


334  PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

that  had  been  standing  in  a  tub  abl  two  hours  exposed  to  the 
sun.  *  *  *  Got  a  new  Harrow  made  of  smaller  and  closer 
teethings  for  harrowing  in  grain — the  other  being  more  proper 
for  preparing  the  ground  for  sowing. ' ' 

May  i?1  Washington  records  that  he  inspected  the  grain 
planted  in  the  ten  boxes,  each  containing  a  different  compost,, 
as  a  test.  These  experiments  show  how  close  an  observer  he 
was,  but  they  are  too  extended  to  be  given  in  full  here.  He 
concludes,  all  things  considered,  that  boxes  8  and  9  promised 
the  most  satisfactory  results. 

His  ever  watchful  attention  to  the  matter  of  labor-saving 
machinery  in  the  interest  of  the  poorly-paid  and  over-worked 
farmer  is  apparent  throughout  the  life  and  writings  of  Wash- 
ington. He  made  it  a  duty  to  read  the  standard  works  and 
annual  publications  on  agriculture  to  obtain  useful  hints  which 
might  be  of  service  on  the  Mount  Vernon  plantations.20 

Each  one  of  the  five  plantations  under  the  general  super- 
vision of  the  Mount  Vernon  estates,  had  its  own  overseer  and 
its  independent  outfit  or  plant,  with  all  the  working  people, 
stock  and  farm  implements  essential  to  its  independent, 
economical  management.  A  debit  and  credit  account  was 
kept  by  each  overseer  of  the  operations  on  his  plantation — the 

2°The  following  letter,  the  draft  of  which  is  preserved  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  State,  is  in  point.  The  letter  is  here  given  in  full,  as  it  is  only 
in  part  published  by  Sparks  and  by  Ford  ; 

To— ROBBRT  CARY  ESQR  &  C° 

Merch*.8  Condon 
Gentn 

The  Inclosed  is  a  Copy  of  iny  last  of  the  22^  Ult°.  We  have  been  curiously  en- 
tertained of  late  with  ye  description  of  an  Engine  lately  constructed  (I  believe  in  Swit- 
zerland, and  undergone  some  Improvements  since  in  England)  for  taking  up  Trees  by 
the  Roots.— Among  other  things  it  is  related  that  Trees  of  considerable  Diameter  are 
forced  up  by  this  Engine— that  Six  hands  in  working  one  of  them  will  raise  two  or 
three  hundred  Trees  in  the  space  of  a  day— and  that  an  Acre  of  Ground  may  be  eased 
of  the  Trees  and  laid  fit  for  Plowing  in  the  same  time.— How  far  these  assertions  have 
been  amply  realy  reallized  by  repeated  experiment  it  is  impossible  for  me  at  this  dis- 
tance to  determine  but  if  the  Accounts  are  not  greatly  exaggerated  such  powerful 
assistance  must  be  of  vast  utility  in  many  parts  of  this  wooden  country  where  it  is 
impossible  for  our  Force  (and  labourers  are  not  to  be  hired  here)  between  the  finishing 
of  one  Crop  and  preparations  for  another  to  clear  Ground  fast  enough  to  afford  the 
proper  changes  either  in  the  planting  or  Farming  business— The  chief  purport  of  this 
Ivetter  therefore  is  to  beg  the  favour  of  you  Gentlemen  to  make  minute  enquiries  into 
the  Tryals  that  have  been  made  by  Order  of  the  Society  and  if  they  have  proved  satis- 
factory to  send  me  one  of  these  Engines  by  the  first  Ship  to  this  (Potomack)  River.— If 
they  are  made  of  different  sizes,  I  shoud  prefer  one  of  a  middle  size,  capable  of  raising 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  335 

work  done,  the  crops  produced,  their  market  value,  imple- 
ments bought,  stock  increased,  sold  or  on  hand,  general 
improvements  made  to  buildings,  ditching,  clearing  up  of  new 
land,  etc.  At  the  end  of  the  year  a  balance  was  struck  for 
each,  and  the  difference  set  down  to  profit  and  loss. 

At  this  period,  nearly  all  the  trades  essential  to  serve  the 
wants  of  an  independent  community,  were  represented  and 
carried  on  at  Mount  Vernon ;  such  as  milling,  distilling, 
tanning,  blacksmithing,  wagon-making,  shoe-making,  tailor- 
ing, spinning,  weaving,  knitting,  carpentering,  coopering, 
harness-making,  brick-making  and  laying,  stone-masons,  etc. 
To  a  limited  extent  the  facilities  of  these  departments  of  labor 
were  extended  to  his  neighbors.  There  were  also  gunners  to 
supply  game,  and  men  whose  business  it  was  to  daily  supply 
fresh  fish,  from  the  Potomac,  for  the  table  ;  while  all  surplus  of 
perishable  articles  brought  to  the  home  house  was  promptly 
sent  to  the  overseers  of  the  several  quarters.  The  gangs  of 
skilled  workmen  and  farm-hands  composing  the  different 
departments  of  laborers  on  the  Mount  Vernon  Estate  consisted 
in  part  of  slaves  owned  by  General  Washington  ; — dower 
negroes — slaves  owned  by  Mrs.  Washington  ;  slaves  hired 
from  their  masters  by  the  year  ;21  transported  convicts  serving 

a  tree  of  15  or  18  Inches  Diameter. — The  Costs  I  am  pretty  much  a  stranger  to — 15 — 20  & 
25  Guineas  have  been  spoke  of  but  the  Price  (were  it  d'ble  that)  I  shoud  totally  dis- 
regard provided  the  Kngine  is  capable  of  performing  what  is  related  of  it,  and  not  of 
that  complicated  nature  to  be  easily  disordered,  and  rendered  unfit  for  use,  but  con- 
structed upon  so  plain,  simple,  and  durable  a  Plan  that  the  common  Artificers  of  this 
Country  may  be  able  to  set  them  to  rights  if  any  accidents  shou'd  happen  to  them.  If 
you  should  send  one  be  so  good  as  to  let  me  have  with  it  the  most  ample  directions  for 
the  effectual  using  of  it,  together  with  a  model  of  its  manner  of  operating. 

Mrs.  Washington  woud  take  it  as  a  favour,  if  you  woud  direct  M^s  Shelby  to  send 
her  a  fashionable  Summer  Cloak  &  Hatt,  a  black  Silk  apron,  i  ps  of  penny  &  i  ps  of 
two  penny  Ribbon  (white)  and  a  pair  of  French  bead  Karings  and  Necklace — and  I 
should  be  obliged  to  you  for  sending  me  a  dozen  and  an  half  of  Water  Plates  (Pewter 
with  my  Crest  engraved)  I  am  Gentn 

Yr  Most  Obed*  H'b?e  Serv1 

Mount  Vernon  \  G?  WASHINGTON 

I3*£    February]  J764 

By  Captn.  Dawson — for  I^ondon. 

21  The  following  letter  of  Mrs.  Corbin  to  Colonel  Washington,  found 
among  the  latter's  papers,  is  illustrative  of  the  business  methods  of  the 
times  and  given  in  full — along  with  a  receipt  from  Mr.  Turberville. 

ESSEX,  Mch  3ist,  1766. 

Sir: — I  am  now  favored  with  an  opportunity  of  writing  to  you,  to  let  you  know  that 
I  shall  be  glad  to  be  informed  whether  you  will  want  the  Bricklayer  any  longer.  If  you 


336  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 

out  their  sentences  ;22  persons  voluntarily  indenturing  them- 
selves for  a  sufficient  time23  to  pay  costs  of  transportation  to 

do,  you  may  keep  him  on  the  same  Terms  ;  (but  if  not)  shall  be  obliged  if  you  will  send 
him  down  as  soon  as  his  Year  is  up,  because  I  have  lately  had  an  offer  for  him.  As  the 
distance  is  so  great  &  good  opportunities  scarce,  shall  take  it  as  a  favor  if  you  will  send 
the  Cash  down  by  Mr.  George  Turberville  who  is  the  bearer  of  this  &  am  Sir 

Your  most  obt.  Servt. 

(Signed)       LETTICE  CORBIN. 

N.  B.  I  have  a  good  Gardener  to  hire  ;  if  you  want,  may  have  him  on  the  usual  Terms 
for  such  -  L.  C. 

To  Col°  George  Washington  of  Mount  Vernon,  Va. 

Received  from  Geo  :  Washington  for  the  use  of  Mrs.  Lettice  Corbin,  Twenty  five 
pounds  Virga  Curr'y  for  the  hire  of  the  Negro  Bricklayer  George  one  year. 

(Signed)       GEO.  TURBERVILLE. 
April  9,  1766. 

22  The  following,  found  among  Washington's  papers,  is  a  copy  of  a 
certificate  and  transfer  in  the  case  of  a  convict  whose  term  of  service 
was  assigned  to  George  Washington  : 

In  Pursuance,  and  by  virtue  of  Acts  of  Parliament  made  and  provided  for  the 
more  speedy  and  effectual  Transportation  of  Felons  and  convicted  Persons  out  of 
Great  Britain,  into  his  Majesty's  Plantations  in  America,  We  do  hereby  assign  unto 
George  Washington  Esq^  for  Value  received  one  Man-Servant  named  Thomas 
Wight  being  a  Transport  and  within  the  said  Statutes  for  the  Term  of  Seven  Years, 
the  Time  to  commence  from  the  Arrival  of  the  Brig,  Swift  Captain  George  Straker  in 
the  Province  of  Maryland,  it  being  the  Twenty  Sixth  Day  of  February  1774  As 
witness  our  Hands  this  Twelfth  day  of  March  1774. 

WIW,M  Lux  &  BOWI/Y. 


23  Copy  of  an  Indenture  for  service  as  a  mason  for  a  term  of  years  and 
a  transfer  to  George  Washington,  in  accordance  with  the  law  in  force,  at 
that  period,  in  Virginia.  Taken  from  among  many  manuscript  indentures 
preserved  among  Washington's  papers  : 

THIS  INDENTURE  Made  the  Thirty-first  Day  of  January  in  the  Fourteenth 
Year  of  the  Reign  of  our  Sovereign  L,ord  George  the  third  King  of  Great  Britain,  &c. 
And  in  the  Year  of  our  I^ord  One  Thousand  Seven  Hundred  and  Seventy-four  between 
Isaac  Webb—  Mason—  of  the  City  of  Bristol  of  the  one  Part,  and  John  Moorfield  of  the 
City  of  Bristol  of  the  other  Part,  WITNESSETH,  That  the  said  Isaac  Webb  for  the 
Consideration  herein  after-mentioned,  hath,  and  by  these  Presents  doth  Covenant, 
Grant,  and  Agree  to,  and  with  the  said  John  Moorfield  his  Executors  and  Assigns, 
That  he  the  said  Isaac  Webb  shall  and  will,  as  a  faithful  Covenant  Servant,  well  and 
truly  serve  the  said  John  Moorfield  his  Executors  or  Assigns,  in  the  Plantation  of 
Maryland  beyond  the  Seas,  for  the  space  of  four  years,  next  ensuing  his  arrival  in  the 
said  Plantation,  in  the  Employment  of  a  Mason  And  the  said  Isaac  Webb  doth  hereby 
Covenant  and  Declare  himself,  now  to  be  of  the  Age  of  Twenty-foure  Years  and  no  Cov- 
enant or  Contracted  Servant  to  any  other  Person  or  Persons,  And  the  said  John 
Moorfield  for  himself  his  Executors  or  Assigns,  in  Consideration  thereof  do  hereby 
Covenant,  Promise  and  Agree  to  and  with  the  said  Isaac  Webb  Executors  and  Assigns, 
that  he  the  said  John  Moorfield  his  Executors  or  Assigns,  shall  and  will  at  his  or  their 
proper  Costs  and  Charges,  with  what  convenient  Speed  they  may,  carry,  convey  or 
cause  to  be  carried  and  conveyed  over  into  the  said  Plantation,  the  said  Isaac  Webb 
and  from  henceforth  and  during  the  said  Voyage,  and  also  during  the  said  Term, 
shall  and  will  at  the  like  Cost  and  Charges,  provide  for  and  allow  the  said  Isaac  Webb 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  337 

America  ;  others  whose  services  for  a  stipulated  period  were  sold 
by  the  .shipping-masters  to  the  highest  bidder;2*  and  mechanics, 
white  and  colored,  engaged  by  the  month  or  year,  and  gen- 
erally upon  a  written  contract.  Washington's  exactness  in 
charging  to  each  enterprise  its  just  expense,  is  illustrated  in 
his  noting  the  number  of  days'  labor  it  required  of  his  carpen- 
ters and  others  in  building  his  schooner  at  Mount  Vernon, 
which  we  transfer  in  his  own  language  from  his  diary. 

1 '  Sep1.  75,  1765 — To  this  day  my  carpenters  had  in  all 
worked  82  days  on  my  schooner. 

all  necessary  Cloaths,  Meat,  Drink,  Washing,  and  lodging,  fit  and  convenient  for  him 
as  Covenant  Servants  in  Such  Cases  are  usually  provided  for  and  allow'd. 

And  for  the  true  Performance  of  the  Premises,  the  said  Parties  to  these  Presents, 
bind  themselves,  their  Executors  and  Administrators,  the  either  to  the  other,  in  the 
Penal  Sum  of  Ten  Pounds  Sterling,  firmly  by  these  Presents.  In  witness  whereof,  they 
have  hereunto  interchangeably  set  their  Hands  and  Seals,  the  Day  and  Year  above 
written. 

JOHN  MOORFIELD  [SEAL] 

his 
ISAAC  X  WEBB        [SEAL] 

mark 

Sealed  and  Delivered 

in  the  Presence  of 

JOHN  EVANS 

I  hereby  Assign  unto  Col?  George  Washington  all  my  Right  &  title  to  the  within 
Named  Isaac  Webb  his  time  to  begin  from  the  Arrival  of  the  Restoration  Cap* 
Thomas  into  the  Province  of  Maryland  it  being  the  22^  Day  of  March  1774  as  witness 
my  hand  this  26^  Day  of  March  1774. 

JOHN  MOORFIELD." 

24  The  original  of  this  indenture  is  preserved  among  the  Washington 
papers  in  the  Department  of  State,  and  is  illustrative  of  old  English  law; 

THIS  INDENTURE  Made  the  Eighth  Day  of  July  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord  God 
One  Thousand  Seven  Hundred  &  Seventy  two  Between  Andrew  Judge  of  the  one  Party, 
and  Alex^  Coldclough  Merch*  of  the  other  Party,  WITNESSETH,  That  the  said  Andrew 
Judge  doth  hereby  Covenant,  Promise  and  Grant  to  and  with  the  said  AlexV  Coldclough 
his  Executors,  Administrators  and  Assigns,  from  the  Day  of  the  Date  hereof  until  the 
first  and  next  Arrival  at  Baltimore  or  any  port  in  America  and  after,  for  and  during  the 
Term  of  Four  Years,  to  serve  in  such  Service  and  Employment  as  the  said  Alex^  Coldclough 
or  his  Assigns  shall  there  employ  him  according  to  the  Custom  of  that  Country  in  the  like 
Kind.  IN  CONSIDERA  TION  whereof  the  said  Alex?  Coldclough  doth  hereby  Cove- 
nant and  Grant  to  and  with  the  said  Andrew  Judge  to  pay  for  his  Passage,  and  to  find  and 
allow  Meat,  Drink,  Apparel  and  Lodging,  with  other  Necessaries  during  the  said  Term. 
And  at  the  End  of  the  said  Term,  to  pay  unto  him  the  usual  Allowance  according  to  the  Cus- 
tom of  the  Country  in  the  like  Kind.  IN  WITNESS  whereof  the  Parties  abovementioned 
to  these  INDENTURES  have  interchangeably  set  their  Hands  and  Seals,  the  Day  and 
Year  first  above  written. 

his 
ANDREW  X  JUDGE       [SEAL] 

Mark 

Signed,  Sealed  and  Delivered, 
in  Presence  of 

JN?MCDERMOTT 


338  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

' '  22*     This  week  they  worked  22  days  upon  her. 

"28**  This  week  my  carpenters  worked  22  days  upon  my 
schooner — and  John  Askew  3  days  upon  her. 

"Oct.  5^  This  week  my  carpenters  worked  24  days  upon 
my  schooner — and  John  Askew  4  days. 

« I2th  fliis  Week  my  carpenters  worked  22  days  upon  my 
schooner — and  John  Askew  3  days. 

"  igt*  This  week  y?  carpenters  worked  18  days,  which 
make  in  all  190  days  &  10  of  John  Askew." 

Washington  was  noted  for  owning  fine  horses,  he  also 
enjoyed,  on  proper  occasions,  extending  their  use  to  visiting 
friends  for  a  dash  after  a  fox  and  hounds  over  the  Mount 
Vernon  plains,25  a  sport  of  which  he  was  fond  and  frequently 
indulged  in  himself.  In  the  chase,  on  his  fine  horse,  he  was 
usually  the  foremost  hunter. 

He  was  a  rapid  rider  in  his  ordinary  business  journeys,  and 
his  Diaries  record  the  fact  that  on  various  occasions  he  rode  as 
much  as  60  miles  a  day. 

The  possession  of  the  Mississippi  valley  by  the  British  and 
its  settlement  by  Virginia  had  engaged  the  attention  of  George 
Washington  from  his  youth.  His  brothers,  Lawrence  and 
Augustine,  were  among  the  original  members  of  the  Ohio 
Company,  organized  in  1748  to  settle  lands  on  the  Ohio  river 
and  trade  with  the  Indians.  He  was,  therefore,  reared  in  an 
atmosphere  of  admiration  for  and  conviction  of  the  future  great- 
ness of  this  western  territory.  His  Diary  for  July  is*  1763,  con- 
tains the  following  entry  :  ' '  Went  over  to  Stafford  Court-House 
to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  Mississippi  adventure,  and  lodged 
there."  From  the  year  1754,  the  House  of  Burgesses,  of 


25   The   following   observations   on   Washington's   horsemanship   are 
taken  from  de  Chastellux,  page  69  : 

"The  weather  being  fair,  on  the  26th,  I  got  on  horseback,  after  breakfasting  with  the 
general — He  was  so  attentive  as  to  give  me  the  horse  he  rode,  the  day  of  my  arrival, 
which  I  had  greatly  commended— I  found  him  as  good  as  he  is  handsome  ;  but  above  all, 
perfectly  well  broke,  and  well  trained,  having  a  good  mouth,  easy  in  hand,  and  stopping 
short  in  a  gallop  without  bearing  the  bit — I  mention  these  minute  particulars,  because  it  is 
the  general  himself  who  breaks  all  his  own  horses  ;  and  he  is  a  very  excellent  and  bold 
horseman,  leaping  the  highest  fences,  and  going  extremely  quick,  without  standing  upon 
his  stirrups,  bearing  on  the  bridle,  or  letting  his  horse  run  wild, — circumstances  which 
our  young  men  look  upon  as  so  essential  a  part  of  English  horsemanship,  that  they  would 
rather  break  a  leg  or  an  arm  than  renounce  them." 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  339 

Virginia,  inspired  by  the  report  of  Major  George  Washington 
in  1753,  had  annually  before  it,  until  the  Revolution,  some 
measure  or  report  of  committee  to  encourage  and  protect 
settlers  on  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  held  to  belong  to 
Virginia.  {Journal  of  House  of  Burgesses.~\  His  cash  book 
shows  he  was  a  generous  contributor  to  measures  to  encourage 
settlement  and  take  up  land  in  the  valleys  of  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi. 

Notwithstanding  Washington's  many  engagements,  he  was 
not  neglectful  or  unappreciative  of  the  amenities  of  social 
intercourse.  His  home,  even  at  this  period,  was  scarcely  a 
day  without  visitors  of  note  from  some  of  the  Colonies, 
foreign  travelers,  his  relatives,  or  gentlemen  on  business.  He 
occasionally  accompanied  Mrs.  Washington  and  the  children 
to  return  calls  and  pay  his  respects  to  his  neighbors.  The 
following  extract  from  his  Diary  is  in  point : 

"May  jisf  1769.—*  *  *  *  *  Set  off  with  Mr 
Washington  and  Patcy,  M?  W[arner]  Washington  and  wife, 
Mrs  Bushrod  and  Miss  Washington,  and  MT  Magowen  for 
'Towlston,'  in  order  to  stand  for  MT  B.  Fairfax's  third  son, 
which  I  did  together  with  my  wife,  M^  Warner  Washington 
and  his  lady. ' ' 

In  seasons  of  harvesting  and  seeding,  or  when  any  other 
important  work  was  going  on  which  required  special  attention, 
it  was  Washington's  habit  to  visit  several  of  his  plantations,  or 
all  of  them,  to  confer  with  his  overseers  before  he  ate  his 
breakfast.  When  the  full  round  of  the  plantations  was  made, 
the  ride  amounted  to  about  ten  miles.  4  This  ought  to  have  given 
him,  as  it  doubtless  did,  a  good  appetite.  On  his  return  to 
the  mansion-house,  he  would  immediately  refresh  himself  with 
a  wash,  while  the  servant  would  place  upon  the  table  in  the 
dining-room  a  fresh,  warm  breakfast.  This  meal  usually  con- 
sisted of  fresh  fish,  breakfast  bacon  or  ham,  eggs,  corn-cakes, 
fresh  butter,  honey  and  coffee  or  tea.  Mrs.  Washington,  with 
her  good  taste  and  characteristic  tact,  even  though  the  Gen- 
eral was  a  little  late,  managed  to  join  and  cheer  him  at 
table. 


340  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE   CONGRESS. 

The  regular  hour  for  dining  at  Mount  Vernon  was  three, 
although  the  working-people  dined  at  twelve  o'clock.26  It 
was  the  General's  habit  to  make  a  toilet  immediately  before 
sitting  down  to  table,  whether  he  had  been  out  riding  or  had 
remained  in  or  about  the  house,  was  alone  or  had  company. 
The  opportunity  was  also  afforded  to  all  guests  to  refresh 
themselves  before  going  into  the  dining-room. 

The  intense  earnestness  of  Washington  in  the  prosecution 
of  his  farming  interests  extended,  in  a  degree,  to  all  the  em- 
ployes on  his  estates.  His  people  knew  that  he  was  just 
and  considerate  and  that  they  and  their  work  were  constantly 
under  his  supervision.  They  also  knew  that  he  desired  to 
have  all  his  work  done  in  the  best  possible  manner.  The 
versatility  and  never-flagging  application  which  Washing- 
ton exhibited  in  all  his  business  affairs,  must  always  excite 
admiration.  His  power  of  endurance  and  celerity  of  move- 
ment from  place  to  place  were  marvelous.  He  had,  too,  that 
self-command  which  enabled  him  to  pass  from  one  occupation 
to  another,  or  from  the  exciting  sport  of  the  chase  immediately 
to  the  discharge  of  intricate  business  transactions,  such  as  the 
drafting  of  a  lease  or  deed  and  other  papers  requiring  legal  or 
expert  knowledge,  or  the  plotting  of  a  survey,  without  the 
least  flurry  or  confusion.  It  was  a  rule  with  him  to  be  prompt 
in  attending  business  engagements.  The  following  extract 
from  his  Diary  is  fairly  illustrative  of  this  : 

26  Washington  was  an  early  riser,  out  before  the  sun  was  up  or  engaged 
in  his  study  writing.  The  breakfast  hour  at  Mount  Vernon,  in  summer, 
was  seven  o'clock  and  in  winter,  eight.  During  Colonial  times  dinner 
was  served  in  the  mansion  house  usually  at  two  o'clock.  After  the  Revo- 
lution the  time  for  that  meal  was  three  o'clock  the  year  round.  His 
usual  beverage  was  small  beer,  cider,  and  Madeira  wine.  Tea  was  served 
in  the  dining-room — or  if  the  company  was  very  large,  handed  round — 
between  seven  and  eight  o'clock.  The  hospitality  at  Mount  Veruonwas 
so  generous  as  almost  to  amount  to  an  open  house.  Washington  was  a 
most  liberal  provider  and  himself  a  hearty  eater,  but  neither  in  his  letters 
or  diaries  does  he  complain  of  the  tables  at  which  he  ate  in  traveling  nor 
record  what  he  had  upon  his  own.  But  on  several  occasions  he  states  that 
he  lived  plainly.  To  a  friend  he  wrote,  "My  manner  of  living  is  plain,  and 
I  do  not  mean  to  be  put  out  by  it.  A  glass  of  wine  and  a  bit  of  mutton  are 
always  ready,  and  such  as  will  be  content  to  partake  of  them  are  always 
welcome.  Those  who  expect  more  will  be  disappointed." 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS.  341 

"March  5,  //<5p — Went  up  to  Alexandria  after  Fielding 
Lewis  and  brought  him  down  to  dinner,  where  I  found  MT 
Warner  Washington,  who  returned  after  dinner. 

4 '  6  l.h  Set  out  with  Fielding  Lewis  for  Fredericksburg,  which 
we  reached  after  dining  at  Peytons  at  Aquia,  i.  e.  reached  my 
mother's.27 

27  Although  this  was  a  ride  of  about  45  miles,  he  rode  over  the  same 
ground  in  less  time  on  receiving  a  message  of  the  dangerous  illness  of 
his  mother  and  sister.  His  diary  of  April  27th,  1787,  says  :  "  About  sun- 
rise I  commenced  my  journey  as  intended.  Bated  at  Dumfries  and 
reached  Fredericksburg  before  two  o'clock  and  found  both  my  mother  and 
sister  better."  Washington,  from  his  childhood,  had  a  most  reverential 
love  and  respect  for  his  mother,  which  continued  unabated  to  the  close 
of  her  life.  The  prevalence  of  ceremony  in  Colonial  days  led  him 
to  address  his  mother,  in  at  least  some  of  his  communications  to  her, 
as  "  Honored  Madam,"  and  at  the  close  subscribe  himself  "Your 
most  dutiful  son."  Mary  Washington,  like  her  son,  was  in  the  conduct 
of  life  eminently  practical  and  chose  to  manage  and  maintain  her  inde- 
pendent estate  according  to  her  own  notions,  having  sufficient  for  her 
needs.  She  removed  from  her  farm  to  the  town  of  Fredericksburg  in  1775 
and  resided  in  a  comfortable  house  owned  by  her  son  George.  It  was  within 
a  hundred  yards  of  "Kenmore"  mansion,  the  residence  of  her  daughter, 
Betty  Lewis.  As  age  advanced  her  children  and  grandchildren  made 
her  frequent  visits  and  saw  to  it  that  she  wanted  for  nothing  that  could 
add  to  her  comfort.  The  General  had  repeatedly  urged  his  mother  to 
make  Mount  Vernon  her  home,  which  she  declined.  Her  daughter,  Mrs. 
Fielding  Lewis,  had  also  begged  her  to  reside  with  her  in  "Kenmore," 
but  she  persisted  in  her  determination  to  maintain  her  own  independent 
establishment.  Her  son,  John  Augustine,  had  also  often  and  earnestly 
entreated  her  to  give  up  the  cares  of  a  house  and  live  with  him.  Febru- 
ary I5th,  1787,  Washington  wrote  his  mother  a  long  and  earnest  letter  on 
family  affairs  and  in  her  special  interest,  looking  to  her  comfort  in  her 
declining  years.  In  this  letter  he  urged  her  to  make  her  home  with  one  of 
her  children,  to  rent  her  farm  and  take  with  her  her  horses  and  carriages 
and  such  servants  as  she  desired  ;  but  this,  like  all  former  advice,  of  the 
kind  was  declined.  Washington's  account  book  from  1754  shows  that 
he  advanced  considerable  sums  to  his  mother.  In  his  letter  of  Septem- 
ber i3th,  1789,  to  his  sister,  after  their  mother's  demise,  he  says  "I 
want  no  restitution  of  these  sums."  And  on  his  ledger  beneath 
the  account  of  over  ,£"500-0-0  against  his  mother,  he  writes  "Settled." 
His  cash  book  under  date  of  March  nth,  1789,  has  the  following: 
"By  my  expenses  on  a  visit  to  my  mother  at  Fredericksburg, 
,£"1-8-0.  By  Mrs.  Mary  Washington  advanced  her  6  Guineas."  His 
mother  died  August  25th,  1789,  five  months  after  this  interview.  It 


4 

342  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 


(  ' 


7  ^  Went  to  Fredericksburg  &  remained  there  all  day- 
din?  at  Col?  Lewis's. 

"8.  Still  there.  Dined  at  the  same  place,  spending  y?  even- 
ing at  Weedons  at  y?  club. 

"  9.  Set  off  for  Rob*  Ashby's,  and  after  dining  by  the  way, 
reached  it  a  little  after  dark. 

"  10.  Went  out  to  run  out  the  bounds  of  the  land  I  bo*  of 
Carters  Estate,  but  y?  weather  being  very  cold  &  windy  was 
obliged  to  return. 

"  1  1  .  Went  out  again  on  the  same  business  &  returned  at 
night  to  Capt?  Ashbys. 

"  12.  At  Capt?  Ashbys  all  day  —  in  the  afternoon  Capt? 
Marshal  came  &  spent  y?  evening. 

"  13.  Out  a  surveying  till  Night  with  sev1.   attending. 

''14.  Out  in  like  manner. 

"  1  6.  Out  again  with  many  People  attending. 

"16.  Ditto.     Ditto.     Ditto. 


is  presumed  that  this  was  the  last  visit  and  interview  the  General  had 
with  his  aged  mother  and  supplied  the  incident  for  the  pathetic  parting 
as  described  by  Lossing  in  "Recollections  and  Memoirs  of  Washington," 
by  G.  W.  Park  Custis,  p.  145,  and  repeated  in  "  Mary  and  Martha  Wash- 
ington," p.  66.  He  assigns  the  date  of  this  visit  as  the  i4th  of  April,  1789, 
when  the  President  is  said  to  address  his  mother  in  the  following  words  ; 
"The  people,  madam,  have  been  pleased  with  the  most  flattering  unan- 
imity to  elect  me  to  the  Chief  Magistracy  of  these  United  States,  but  before 
I  can  assume  the  functions  of  my  office,  I  have  come  to  bid  you  an  effection- 
ate  farewell.  So  soon  as  the  weight  of  public  business,  which  must  neces- 
sarily attend  the  outset  of  a  new  government  can  be  disposed  of,  I  shall 
hasten  to  Virginia  and " — here  the  matron  interrupted  with — "and  you 
will  see  me  no  more  ;  my  great  age,  and  the  disease  which  is  fast  ap- 
proaching my  vitals  warn  me  that  I  shall  not  be  long  in  this  world ;  I 
trust  in  God  that  I  may  be  somewhat  prepared  for  a  better.  But  go, 
George,  fulfill  the  high  destinies  which  Heaven  appears  to  have  intended 
you  for  ;  go,  my  son,  and  may  that  Heaven's  and  a  mother's  blessing  be 
with  you  always."  In  a  letter  to  his  sister,  on  learning  of  his  mother's 
death,  he  says  ;  "  Awful  and  afflicting  as  the  death  of  a  parent  is,  there  is 
consolation  in  knowing  that  Heaven  has  spared  ours  to  an  age  beyond 
which  few  attain,  and  favored  her  with  the  full  enjoyment  of  her  mental 
faculties  and  as  much  bodily  strength  as  usually  falls  to  the  lot  of  four 
score.  Under  these  circumstances,  and  the  hope  that  she  is  translated  to 
a  happier  place,  it  is  the  duty  of  her  relations  to  yield  due  submission  to 
the  decree  of  the  Creator." 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  343 

"17.  Executing  Leases  to  those  who  had  taken  Lotts — being 
at  Capt?  Ashby's. 

"  18.  Went  up  to  Green  way  Court  where  I  dined  and  stayed 
all  Night — met  Col?  Lewis  here. 

"Mar.  19.  Went  with  Col?  Lewis  to  his  Plantations  where 
I  stayd  all  day  &  Night. 

* '  20.  Executing  in  the  forenoon  Deeds  and  settling  with 
those  who  had  purch?  Carters  Land  upon  Opeckon — in  the 
afternoon  rid  to  Valentine  Crawf  ? 

"21.  Went  and  laid  of  4  Lots  at  the  head  of  Bullskin  for 
several  tenants. 

"22.  Filling  up  leases  for  them  at  Val  Crawfords  all  day. 

"23.  Set  of  homewards — Breakfasted  at  M?  Ariss's — din'd 
at  ye  Ridge  &  lodged  at  West's. 

1  *  24.  Reached  home  before  dinner — found  Col?  Bassett,  Lady 
&  2  Child?  Betcy  &  Nancy  here  also  Mr  WT  Washington  & 
Jacky  Custis. 

"25.  Went  Fox  hunting  with  Col?  Bassett  &  MV  Bryan  Fair- 
fax who  also  came  here  last  night — started  and  run  a  fox  into  a 
hole  after  an  hours  chase — M?  Fairfax  went  home  after  dinner. ' ' 

The  intelligent  supervision  Washington  gave  to  his  planta- 
tions between  1760  and  1770,  brought  them  into  as  fine  condi- 
tion as  any  land  in  the  Mount  Vernon  region  was  susceptible 
of.  He  stopped  the  washes  in  the  fields,  drained  the  wet  lands 
by  proper  ditching,  made  new  clearings,  refenced  the  fields, 
made  roads,  erected  comfortable  houses,  barns  and  quarters  for 
his  people,  rested  the  old  fields  in  fallow,  sowed  clover,  timothy 
and  other  grasses  for  hay  pasture  and  for  enriching  the  soil,  and 
rotated  his  crops  in  the  most  judicious  and  practical  manner. 
He  was  a  good  judge  of  the  quality  of  land  and  knew  as  well 
as  any  man  that  the  soil  of  his  Mount  Vernon  estate  was  thin 
and  capable  of  yielding  but  moderate  crops.  However,  he 
seems  never  to  have  complained  or  expressed  an  inclination  to 
remove  to  better  land.  He  owned  large  tracts  of  first-class 
limestone  land  on  the  Bullskin  in  Frederick  county,  Virginia, 
which  he  cultivated  with  profit.28  The  facts  are  beyond  ques- 

28  Received  from  George  Washington  the  i8th.  day  of  Aug.  1764  The 
Sum  of  two  pounds  three  shillings  for  bringing  down  two  Hhds  of  Tobo. 
in  Joseph  Thompson's  Waggon  from  Frederick)  his 

JOHN  # BENNET 
Mark 


344  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

tion  that  he  was  deeply  attached  to  his  home  on  the  Potomac, 
and  found  his  greatest  enjoyment  of  life  in  the  peaceful  shades 
of  Mount  Vernon  and  in  the  cultivation  of  its  soil.2?  From 
1770  to  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution  he  was  gradually 
drawn  to  reflect  upon  public  affairs,  and  especially  upon  the 
questions,  then  discussed,  as  to  the  rights  of  the  Colonies  under 
the  Crown.  His  Diaries  covering  this  period  show  the  frequent 
visits  to  Mount  Vernon  of  men  of  the  first  character  in  America 
who  were  interested  in  the  politics  of  the  Colonies. 

In  1770  he  visited  the  Ohio  river  bottoms  to  select  land  for 
the  officers  and  men  who  were  entitled  to  them  under  Gov- 
ernor Dinwiddie's  proclamation  of  1754,  granting  lands  to  those 
who  volunteered  and  served  that  year  in  the  expedition  to  the 
Ohio.  Washington  was  among  the  first  to  call  attention  to  the 
desirableness  and,  he  hoped,  the  practicability  of  having  a  con- 
tinuous water  navigation  by  canal,  or  otherwise,  to  near  the 
head  of  the  Potomac  and  of  the  western  rivers  to  the  head  of 
some  branch  of  the  Ohio  river  on  the  west  which  would  leave 
but  a  short  portage  between.  On  the  2oth  of  May,  1754, 
while  in  command  of  the  expedition  to  build  forts  at  the  head 
of  the  Ohio,  Washington,  in  a  canoe,  examined  the  Yougheny 
river  for  about  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  above  ' '  Turkey  Foot ' ' 
and  three  below  with  a  view  of  transporting  his  munitions  of 
war  down  that  river  in  boats.  Although  Washington  did  not 
find  this  stream  in  a  condition  to  navigate  boats  that  would 
serve  his  purpose,  the  possible  improvement  of  the  navigation 
so  that  craft  of  sufficient  size  to  carry  freight  might  eventually 
be  used  well  up  into  the  Alleghany  mountains,  remained  a 
favorite  project  with  him.  His  long  military  service  on  the 
Virginia  frontier  led  him  to  converse  much  with  traders, 
hunters  and  others  familiar  with  the  character  of  all  the  streams 

29  Washington  wrote  December  i2th,  1793,  to  Arthur  Young  in  the  fol- 
lowing words  of  Mount  Vernon  ;  "  No  estate  in  united  America  is  more 
pleasantly  situated  than  this.  It  lies  in  a  high  dry  and  healthy  country  ; 
in  a  latitude  between  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  on  one  of  the  finest 
rivers  in  the  world,  a  river  well  stocked  with  shad,  herring,  bass,  carp 
and  sturgeon.  The  borders  of  the  Estate  are  washed  by  more  than  ten 
miles  of  tide  water. ' ' 

At  this  time  the  Estate  embraced  in  one  compact  body  nearly  10,000 
acres  of  land. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE   CONGRESS.  345 

draining  to  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  and  all  the  passes  in  the 
mountains  between  the  head  springs  of  the  streams  draining  to 
the  Potomac  and  the  James  rivers,  and  to  consider  the  question 
of  a  practical  highway  by  some  one  of  them.  Although  the 
difficulties  seemed  almost  insurmountable,  he  nevertheless 
looked  hopefully  to  such  improvements  in  the  art  of  naviga- 
tion as  to  greatly  assist  in  establishing  a  waterway  for  traffic 
with  an  easy  portage  between  the  Kast  and  what  he  saw  would 
be  the  great  and  populous  West  in  the  near  future.  Washing- 
ton had  called  such  public  attention  to  the  subject  that  the 
House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia,  December  5th,  1769,  took  the 
following  action,  as  their  journal  shows  : 

' '  Ordered,  That  leave  be  given  to  bring  in  a  bill  for  clearing 
and  making  navigable  the  river  Potomack,  from  the  Great 
Falls  of  the  said  river  up  to  Fort  Cumberland ;  and  that  M* 
Richard  Henry  I^ee  and  MT  Washington  do  prepare  and  bring 
in  the  same." 

In  1770,  and  again  in  1784,  Washington  made  something  of 
of  a  personal  inspection  of  a  possible  portage  between  the  waters 
of  the  Monongahela  and  the  Potomac  during  his  return  trip 
from  inspecting  the  Ohio  bottom  lands,  and  records  his  obser- 
vations in  his  diary.  In  1784  he  wrote  a  strong  letter  to  the 
Governor  of  Virginia  on  the  subject. 3°  His  interest  in  canal 


3°  In  a  communication  from  Mount  Vernon  October  loth,  1784,  to  Gov. 
Harrison  of  Va.,  after  discussing  the  question  of  the  practicability  on  the 
score  of  policy,  Washington  uses  the  following  language  ;  "  I  need  not  re- 
mark to  you,  sir,  that  the  flanks  and  rear  of  the  United  States  are  possessed 
by  other  powers  and  formidable  ones,  too  ;  nor  how  necessary  it  is  to  apply 
the  cement  of  interest  to  build  all  parts  of  the  Union  together  by  indissolu- 
ble bonds,  especially  that  part  of  it,  which  lies  immediately  west  of  us, 
with  the  middle  States.  For  what  ties,  let  me  ask,  should  we  have  upon 
these  people?  How  entirely  unconnected  with  them  shall  we  be,  and 
what  troubles  may  we  not  apprehend,  if  the  Spaniards  on  their  right,  and 
Great  Britain  on  their  left,  instead  of  throwing  stumbling  blocks  in  their 
way,  as  they  now  do,  should  hold  out  lures  for  other  trade  and  alliance  ? 
What,  when  they  get  strength,  which  will  be  sooner  than  most  people 
conceive  (from  the  emigration  of  foreigners,  who  will  have  no  particular 
predilection  towards  us,  as  well  as  from  the  removal  of  our  own  citizens) 
will  be  the  consequence  of  them  having  formed  close  connexions  with 
both  or  either  of  those  powers,  in  a  commercial  way?  It  needs  not,  in 
my  opinion,  the  gift  of  prophecy  to  foretell. 


346  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

navigation  was  well  known,  and  when  James  Rumsey  was,  in 
1786,  experimenting  at  Shepherdstown  on  the  Potomac  with  a 
boat  to  be  propelled  against  a  stream  by  machinery.  Wash- 
ington was  invited  to  witness  the  performance  of  his  boat,  so 
widely  was  it  understood  that  he  was  an  influential  promoter 
of  new  inventions. — (See  his  letter  to  Rumsey  in  Sparks.) 

In  1774,  when  the  discontent  among  the  American  Colonies 
became  so  great  that  a  conference  of  representatives  from  the 
Provinces  was  resolved  upon  to  secure  unity  of  action,  Wash- 
ington was  selected,  with  great  unanimity,  as  one  of  the 
delegates  sent  by  Virginia  to  the  meeting  at  Philadelphia  in 
September.  He  attended  this  one  and  also  a  second  Congress, 
which  assembled  there  the  following  year. 

Washington's  great  and  priceless  services  to  America  in  the 
clash  of  arms  which  shortly  after  ensued  between  the  Mother 
Country  and  the  Colonies  are,  I  am  fain  to  believe,  known  to 
every  American  capable  of  enjoying  civil  liberty.  For  this 
reason  the  period  of  the  Revolution  is  thus  summarily  passed 
over.  It  is  also  known  that  throughout  that  memorable 
struggle  it  was  Washington's  personal,  magnetic  patriotism,  and 
the  faith  his  soldiers  had  that  he  would  devise  meanss1  to  over- 

"The  Western  States  (I  speak  now  from  my  own  observation)  stand  as 
it  were  upon  a  pivot.  The  touch  of  a  feather  would  turn  them  any  way. 
They  have  looked  down  the  Mississippi,  until  the  Spaniards,  very  im- 
politically  I  think  for  themselves,  threw  difficulties  in  their  way  ;  and 
they  looked  that  way  for  no  other  reason  than  because  they  could  glide 
gently  down  the  stream  ;  without  considering,  perhaps,  the  difficulties  of 
the  voyage  back  again,  and  the  time  necessary  to  perform  it  in,  and  be- 
cause they  have  no  other  means  of  coming  to  us  but  by  long  land  trans- 
portations and  unimproved  roads.  These  causes  have  hitherto  checked 
the  industry  of  the  present  settlers  ;  for  except  the  demand  for  provisions 
occasioned  by  the  increase  of  population,  and  a  little  flour,  which  the 
necessities  of  the  Spaniards  compel  them  to  buy,  they  have  no  incitement 
to  labor.  But  smooth  the  road,  and  make  easy  the  way  for  them,  and 
then  see  what  an  influx  of  articles  will  be  poured  upon  us  ;  how  amazing 
your  exports  will  be  increased  by  them,  and  how  amply  we  shall  be 
compensated  for  any  trouble  and  expense  we  may  encounter  to  effect  it." 

31  Pen-pictures  of  Washington  by  capable  hands  at  different  periods  of 
his  life,  possess  an  especial  interest.  The  following  description  of  the 
General's  personal  appearance  in  1778  is  taken  from  Dr.  James  Thatcher's 
"Military  Journal  of  the  Revolution,"  page  150; 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  347 

come  the  apparently  insurmountable  difficulty  of  keeping 
him  to  his  forces  in  the  field  against  the  enemy,  in  spite 
of  an  empty  exchequer,  a  depleted  commissary  and  a  lack  of 

"  The  personal  appearance  of  our  Commander-in-Chief  is  that  of  the  perfect  gentle- 
man and  accomplished  warrior.  He  is  remarkably  tall,  full  six  feet,  erect  and  well 
proportioned.  The  strength  and  proportion  of  his  joints  and  muscles  appear  to  be 
commensurate  with  the  preeminent  power  of  his  mind.  The  serenity  of  his  counte- 
nance and  majestic  gracefulness  of  his  deportment,  impart  a  strong  impression  of  that 
dignity  and  grandeur,  which  are  his  peculiar  characteristics,  and  no  one  can  stand  in 
his  presence  without  feeling  the  ascendancy  of  his  mind  and  associating  with  his 
countenance  the  idea  of  wisdom,  philanthropy,  magnanimity  and  patriotism.  There 
is  a  fine  symmetry  in  the  features  of  his  face  indicative  of  a  benign  and  dignified 
spirit.  His  nose  is  straight,  and  his  eyes  inclined  to  blue.  He  wears  his  hair  in  a 
becoming  cue,  and  from  his  forehead  it  is  turned  back  and  powdered  in  a  manner 
which  adds  to  the  military  air  of  his  appearance.  He  displays  a  native  gravity,  but 
devoid  of  all  appearance  of  ostentation.  His  uniform  dress  is  a  blue  coat  with  two 
brilliant  epaulets,  buff  colored  underclothes,  and  a  three-cornered  hat  with  a  black 
cockade.  He  is  constantly  equipped  with  an  elegant  small  sword,  boots  and  spurs,  in 
readiness  to  mount  his  noble  charger." 

The  foil  owing  appears  as  a  note  in  the  first  volume  of  Sparks,  page  no, 
relative  to  the  stature  of  General  Washington  :  "From  an  order,  which 
he  sent  to  a  tailor  in  London,  we  learn  the  size  of  his  person.  He  de- 
scribes himself  as  'six  feet  high  and  proportionably  made;  if  anything 
rather  slender  for  a  person  of  thatheighth,'  and  adds  that  his  limbs  were 
long.  At  this  time  he  was  thirty-one  years  old.  In  exact  measure,  his 
heighth  was  six  feet,  three  inches." 

An  admirable  delineation  of  General  Washington's  personal  ap- 
pearance the  year  before  the  Yorktown  surrender  was  published  in  the 
London  Chronicle  in  the  following  language:  "General  Washington  is 
now  in  the  forty-seventh  year  of  his  age.  He  is  a  tall,  well-made  man, 
rather  large-boned,  and  has  a  genteel  address.  His  features  are  manly 
and  bold  ;  his  eyes  are  a  bluish  cast  and  very  lively  ;  his  hair  is  a  deep 
brown,  his  face  rather  long,  and  marked  with  the  smallpox,  his  com- 
plexion sunburnt  and  without  much  color.  His  countenance  sensible, 
composed  and  thoughtful.  There  is  a  remarkable  air  of  dignity  about 
him,  with  a  striking  degree  of  gracefulness.  He  has  an  excellent  under- 
standing, without  much  quickness  ;  is  strictly  just,  vigilant,  and  generous  ; 
an  affectionate  husband,  a  faithful  friend,  a  father  to  the  deserving  soldier, 
gentle  in  his  manners,  in  temper,  reserved  ;  a  total  stranger  to  religious 
prejudices ;  in  morals,  irreproachable,  and  never  known  to  exceed  the 
bounds  of  the  most  rigid  temperance.  In  a  word,  all  his  friends  and 
acquaintances  allow  that  no  man  ever  united  in  his  own  person  a  more 
perfect  alliance  of  the  virtues  of  a  philosopher  with  the  talents  of  a 
general.  Candor,  sincerity,  affability,  and  simplicity  seem  to  be  the 
striking  features  of  his  character  ;  and  when  occasion  offers,  the  power 
of  displaying  the  most  determined  bravery  and  independence  of  spirit." 


348  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   CONGRESS. 

clothing.  32  This  was  a  period  of  extreme  hardships  and  the 
deficiencies  in  necessary  supplies  put  to  a  supreme  test  the 
greatness  of  Washington  as  a  leader  and  a  patriot;  and 
required  a  fortitude  and  an  inventive  genius  of  the  highest 
order  to  keep  his  army  together.  His  virtues  and  rectitude 
from  the  beginning  and  his  conduct  at  every  stage  of  the 
contest  determined  the  end  and  crowned  the  work.  Washing- 
ton was  referred  to  by  L,ord  Byron  as  the  great  Cincinnatus  of 
the  West,  who,  like  his  classic  prototype,  was  called  from  his 
favorite  pursuit,  that  of  agriculture,  to  command  the  armies  of 
his  country,  in  defence  of  its  liberty,  against  a  formidable 
enemy.  Having  brought  the  struggle  to  a  successful  issue, 
Washington,  like  Cincinnatus,  was  tempted  with  a  crown,  and 
like  him  unconditionally  laid  down  supreme  power  to  become 
once  more  the  private  citizen  ;  and  returned,  like  Cincinnatus, 
to  his  plow  and  to  peaceful  pursuits. 

Washington  possessed,  to  an  eminent  degree,  those  special 
qualities  which  are  characteristic  of  the  most  astute  inventors, 
and  had  not  his  time  been  so  fully  taken  up  in  the  important 
affairs  of  his  country,  he  would,  in  all  probability,  have  given 

32 The  following  extract  from  the  "Travels  of  the  Marquis  de  Chas- 
tellux  in  North  America  in  the  years  i78o-'8i-'82,"  forcibly  illustrates 
this  point : 

"  Four  or  five  miles  from  Fishkill,  I  saw  some  felled  trees,  and  an  opening  in  the 
woods,  which  on  coming  nearer  I  discovered  to  be  a  camp,  or  rather  huts  inhabited  by 
some  hundred  invalid  soldiers.  These  invalids  were  all  in  very  good  health ;  but  it  is 
necessary  to  observe,  that  in  the  American  armies,  every  soldier  is  called  an  invalid,  who 
is  unfit  for  service ;  now  these  had  been  sent  here  because  their  clothes  were  truly  in- 
valids. These  honest  fellows,  for  I  will  not  say  creatures,  (they  know  too  well  how  to 
suffer,  and  are  suffering  in  too  noble  a  cause)  were  not  covered,  even  with  rags  ;  but  their 
steady  countenance,  and  their  good  arms  in  good  order,  seemed  to  supply  the  defect  of 
clothes,  and  to  display  nothing  but  their  courage  and  their  patience." 

Washington  in  writing  Gov.  Trumbull  on  the  condition]  and  needs  of 
the  army  December  29th,  1777,  says  :  "I  assure  you  sir,  it  is  not  easy  to 
give  you  a  just  and  accurate  idea  of  the  sufferings  of  the  army  at  large, 
of  the  loss  of  men  on  this  account  [want  of  clothing].  Were  they  to  be 
minutely  detailed  your  feelings  would  be  wounded,  and  the  relation  would 
probably  be  received  with  a  degree  of  doubt  and  discredit.  We  had  in 
camp,  on  the  23d  inst.,  by  a  field  return  then  taken,  not  less  than  2,898 
men  unfit  for  duty,  by  reason  of  their  being  barefoot  and  otherwise  naked. 
Besides  this  number,  sufficiently  distressing  of  itself,  there  are  many  others 
detained  in  hospitals  and  crowded  in  farmers'  houses  for  the  same  causes. " 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  349 

much  attention  to  improvements  in  agriculture  and  the 
machinery  and  implements  used  in  the  domestic  arts,  which 
are  so  essential  to  the  comforts  of  civilized  life.  Washington 
had  made  for  him  the  first  pump  used  in  the  town  of  Alex- 
andria, and  another  at  Mount  Vernon,  at  a  time  when  but 
few  had  been  put  in  competition  with  "  the  old  oaken  bucket," 
the  rope  and  windlass,  or  the  balance  lift,  so  common  in  wells 
throughout  the  South  in  early  days.  He  had  the  genius  to  see 
things  as  they  were  and  to  appreciate  their  true  relation.  He 
eliminated  accidental  causes  or  other  circumstances,  whether  as 
to  time,  men  or  things  ;  make  original  observations  and  reflect 
upon  what  he  saw.  He  could  make  combinations,  or  divide 
forces,  and  had  a  just  sense  of  the  bearing  and  influence  of  one 
thing  upon  another. 

About  the  period  of  his  return  to  Mount  Vernon,  after  the 
war,  he  was  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  highest  physical 
vigor  and  mental  activity. 33  At  this  time  circumstances  had 

33 1  am  confident  I  will  be  excused  in  asking  space,  in  a  note,  for  this 
exquisite,  though  but  little  known,  pen  portrait  of  General  Washington, 
drawn  by  the  capable  and  appreciative  hand  of  the  Marquis  de  Chastellux, 
near  the  close  of  the  Revolution  : 

"  Here  would  be  the  proper  place  to  give  the  portrait  of  General  Washington,  but 
what  can  my  testimony  add  to  the  idea  already  formed  of  him  ?  The  continent  of 
North  America,  from  Boston  to  Charleston,  is  a  great  volume,  every  page  of  which 
presents  his  enlogium.  I  know,  that  having  had  the  opportunity  of  a  near  inspection, 
and  of  closely  observing  him,  some  more  particular  details  may  be  expected  from  me  ; 
but  the  strongest  characteristic  of  this  respectable  man  is  the  perfect  union  which 
reigns  between  the  physical  and  moral  qualities  which  compose  the  individual ;  one 
alone  will  enable  you  to  judge  of  all  the  rest.  If  you  are  presented  with  medals  of 
Csesar,  of  Trojan,  or  Alexander,  on  examining  their  features,  you  will  still  be  led  to 
ask  what  was  their  stature,  and  the  form  of  their  persons  ;  but  if  you  discover,  in  a  heap 
of  ruius,  the  head  or  the  limb  of  an  antique  Apollo,  be  not  curious  about  the  other 
parts,  but  rest  assured  that  they  all  were  conformable  to  those  of  a  god.  Let  not  this 
comparison  be  attributed  to  enthusiasm  !  It  is  not  my  intention  to  exaggerate,  I  wish 
only  to  express  the  impression  General  Washington  has  left  on  my  mind  ;  the  idea  of 
a  perfect  whole,  that  cannot  be  the  product  of  enthusiasm,  which  rather  would  reject 
it,  since  the  effect  of  proportion  is  to  diminish  the  idea  of  greatness.  Brave  without 
temerity,  laborious  without  ambition,  generous  without  prodigality,  noble  without 
pride,  virtuous  without  severity  ;  he  seems  always  to  have  confined  himself  within  those 
limits,  where  the  virtues,  by  clothing  themselves  in  more  lively,  but  more  changeable 
and  doubtful  colours,  may  be  mistaken  for  faults.  This  is  the  seventh  year  that  he  has 
commanded  the  army,  and  that  he  has  obeyed  the  Congress  ;  more  need  not  be  said, 
especially  in  America,  where  they  know  how  to  appreciate  all  the  merits  contained  in 
this  simple  fact.  Let  it  be  repeated  that  Conde  was  intrepid,  Turenne  prudent,  Eugene 
adroit,  Catinat  disinterested.  It  is  not  thus  that  Washington  will  be  characterized. 
It  will  be  said  of  him,  AT  THE  END  OF  A  LONG  CIVIL  WAR,  HE  HAD  NOTHING  WITH 
WHICH  HE  COULD  REPROACH  HIMSELF.  If  any  thing  can  be  more  marvellous  than 


350  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

forced  upon  him  a  very  heavy  correspondence,  foreign  and 
domestic,  on  a  multitude  of  subjects.  His  social  duties,  too, 
had  become  exacting,  in  receiving  and  entertaining,  at  his  own 
house,  great  numbers  of  visitors  of  note  from  the  several  States, 
and  also  from  abroad.  In  this  office  he  was  ably  assisted  by 
Mrs.  Washington. 34  He  now  planned  extensive  improvements 
to  the  Mount  Vernon  Mansion-house  and  its  grounds.  While 
he  was  strongly  imbued  with  progressive  ideas,  he  was  by  no 
means  an  iconoclast.  He  therefore  endeavored  to  preserve 
whatever  was  serviceable  in  the  old  Mansion-house,  which  he 
did  by  extending  it  to  the  north  and  south,  and  raising  the 
whole  structure  to  two  full  stories  with  a  finished  attic,  crowned 
with  a  cupola.  He  also  erected  a  wide,  open  piazza35  the  full 

such  a  character,  it  is  the  unanimity  of  the  public  suffrages  in  his  favour.  Soldier, 
magistrate,  people,  all  love  and  admire  him  ;  all  speak  of  him  in  terms  of  tenderness 
and  veneration.  Does  there  then  exist  a  virtue  capable  of  restraining  the  injustice  of 
mankind  ;  or  are  glory  and  happiness  too  recently  established  in  America,  for  envy  to 
have  deigned  to  pass  the  seas  ? 

"In  speaking  of  this  perfect  whole  of  which  General  Washington  furnishes  the 
idea,  I  have  not  excluded  exterior  form.  His  stature  is  noble  and  lofty,  he  is  well 
made,  and  exactly  proportioned  ;  his  physiognomy  mild  and  agreeable,  but  such  as  to 
render  it  impossible  to  speak  particularly  of  any  of  his  features,  so  that  in  quitting 
him,  you  have  only  the  recollection  of  a  fine  face.  He  has  neither  a  grave  nor  a 
familiar  air,  his  brow  is  sometimes  marked  with  thought,  but  never  with  inquietude  ; 
in  inspiring  respect,  he  inspires  confidence,  and  his  smile  is  always  the  smile  of 
benevolence."  [Pages  71-72.] 

34  Although  relieved  from  public  office,  Washington  was  not  freed  from 
care  and  the  obligations  that  follow  those  who  have  filled  important  posi- 
tions.    The  rest  craved  by  the  General  and  Mrs.  Washington  was  not 
granted  to  them.    Indeed,  it  may  be  doubted  if  they  found  any  considerable 
retirement  in  their  loved  Mount  Vernon  home.    Writing  to  General  Knox, 
Washington  said  :  "  It  is  not  the  letters  from  my  friends  which  give  me 
trouble,  or  add  aught  to  my  perplexity.   It  is  references  to  old  matters,  with 
which  I  have  nothing  to  do  ;  applications  which  oftentimes  cannot  be  com- 
plied with  ;  inquiries  which  would  require  the  pen  of  an  historian  to  satisfy; 
letters  of  compliment,  as  unmeaning  perhaps  as  they  are  troublesome, 
but  which  must  be  attended  to,  and  the  commonplace  business  which 
employs  my  pen  and  my  time,  often  disagreeably.     Indeed  these,  with 
company,  deprive  me  of  exercise,  and  unless  I  can  obtain  relief,  must  be 
productive  of  disagreeable  consequences." 

35  The  piazza  is  from  end  to  end  96  feet  long  by  12  feet  8  inches  wide 
with  the  border,  and  two  stories   high,  supported    on    eight  graceful 
square  columns,  the  effect  of  the  whole,  whether  viewed  from  the  lawn  or 
from  the  deck  of  a  steamer  on   the  river,  is  light  and  pleasing.     The 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  351 

height  and  length  of  the  mansion  on  the  river  front ;  and  while 
exercising  proper  economy,  he  did  all  the  work  of  alteration  in 
the  most  substantial  manner  after  his  own  designs  and 
drawings. 

Washington's  love  of  agriculture  and  a  life  in  the  open  coun- 
try led  him  to  see  beauty,  to  an  unusual  degree,  in  the  forms 
and  colorings  of  nature  ;  so  that  in  riding  through  the  woods, 
he  was  frequently  delighted  with  the  grace  and  symmetry  of 
some  tree,  a  specimen  of  which  he  would  instantly  resolve  to 
have  on  his  lawn  and  note  the  fact  in  his  diary,  describing  it 
by  name  and  where  it  was  to  be  found,  af  also  where  he  de- 
sired it  to  be  planted.  36  The  following  extracts  from  his  diary 
illustrate  his  admiration  for  our  forest  trees  : 

"  Tuesday,  Febr?  22*  1783  *****  Removed  two 
pretty  large  &  full-grown  lilacs  to  the  N?  Garden  gate — one  on 

enlarged  and  renovated  "cottage"  or  "  villa, "  as  Washington  occasion- 
ally called  his  old  mansion,  was  nearly  completed  in  1785.  Although  both 
the  General  and  his  wife  earnestly  desired  a  quiet,  peaceful  home,  the  man 
who  had  laid  the  foundation  of  the  republic  was  too  great  a  personage  to 
be  left  alone  or  in  seclusion.  The  enlargement  of  his  "villa"  was  prac- 
tically forced  upon  him  to  enable  him  to  give  a  respectable  reception  to 
the  many  visits  he  was  daily  receiving  from  his  countrymen,  strangers, 
soldiers,  and  civilians,  who  by  a  sort  of  intuition  and  sense  of  reverence, 
began  pilgrimages  to  "Mount  Vernon,"  which  have  never  been  inter- 
rupted, but  are  yearly  on  the  increase.  This  broad  piazza,  during  the 
General's  lifetime,  was  a  sort  of  trysting  place  in  summer  evenings  where 
the  family,  guests  and  neighbors  in  their  informal  calls  assembled  for  an 
hour's  chat  at  the  close  of  day.  In  the  appraiser's  list  of  household 
effects  at  Mount  Vernon  after  the  General's  death,  thirty  Windsor  chairs 
.  were  enumerated  as  furniture  on  the  piazza. 

36  The  ornamental  lawn  on  the  west  front  of  the  mansion,  containing 
about  20  acres,  with  serpentine  carriage  drive  along  each  side,  was  laid 
out  by  the  General  himself,  the  drawing  of  which,  in  his  own  hand,  is  still 
preserved.  Directly  in  front  of  the  center  door  of  the  house  is  a  large  circle 
with  a  sun  dial  in  the  center,  it  is  an  exact  reproduction  of  the  one  placed 
there  by  the  General.  Along  each  side  of  the  serpentine  roadway,  Washing- 
ton planted  a  great  variety  of  our  most  beautiful  native  forest  trees  for  orna- 
ment and  shade.  A  number  of  the  trees  planted  by  the  General  still 
flourish  on  this  lawn.  Extensive  gardens  border  on  these  grounds.  The 
flower  garden  on  the  north  and  the  vegetable  garden  on  the  south,  are  both 
enclosed  by  massive  brick  walls.  The  flower  garden  and  green  house  is 
maintained  in  nearly  its  original  form  and  contains  many  of  the  same 
kinds  of  plants  cultivated  there  by  General  Washington. 


352  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

each  side,  taking  up  as  much  dirt  with  the  roots  as  c?  be  well 
obtained.  *  *  *  I  also  removed  from  the  woods  and  old 
fields,  several  young  trees  of  the  sassafras,  Dogwood  &  Red- 
bud,  to  the  Shrubbery  on  the  N°  side  the  grass  plot. 

"  Wednesday ',  2j?  *  *  *  *  Brought  down  a  number 
of  young  Aspen  trees  from  one  of  Sam1.  Jenkins's  near  the  old 
Court  House  to  transplant  into  the  serpentine  Avenues  to  the 
door. 

"Monday,  28*  *****  Planted  all  the  Mulberry 
trees,  Maple  trees,  &  Black  gums  in  my  Serpentine  walks — 
and  the  Poplars  on  the  right  walk.  *  *  *  Also  planted  4 
trees  from  M.  Hole,  the  name  unknown  but  of  a  brittle  wood 
which  has  the  smell  of  Mulberry. 

"  Tuesday,  March  Is?  1785  *  *  *  *  Planted  the  re- 
mainder of  the  Poplars  and  part  of  the  Ash  Trees — also  a  circle 
of  Dogwood  with  a  red  bud  in  the  Middle  close  to  the  old 
cherry  tree  near  the  south  garden  H? 

"  Wednesday,  ******  Planted  the  remainder  of 
the  Ash  Trees — in  the  Serpentine  Walks — the  remainder  of 
the  fringe  trees  in  the  Shrubberies — all  the  black  haws — all 
the  large  berried  thorns — with  a  small  berried  one  in  the 
middle  of  each  clump — 6  small  berried  thorns  with  a  large  one 
in  the  middle  of  each  clump — all  the  swamp  red  berry  bushes 
&  one  clump  of  locust  trees. 

"  Thursday,  3d.  *  *  *  *  Planted  the  remainder  of  the 
Locusts — Sassafras — small  berried  thorns  &  yellow  Willow  in 
the  Shrubberies  as  also  the  red  buds — a  honey  Locust  and  Service 
berry  tree  by  the  south  garden  House — likewise  took  up  the 
clump  of  Lilacs  that  stood  at  the  corner  of  the  south  grass  plot 
&  transported  them  to  the  Shrubberies  &  standards  at  the 
South  garden  gate — the  Althea  trees  were  also  planted." 

Washington  records  in  his  ' '  Journal  of  my  Journey  Over 
the  Mountains, ' '  page  20  : 

"  Sunday,  March  ij*h  174.7-8 — Rode  to  his  Lordship's  Quar- 
ters ;  about  4  Miles  higher  up  ye  River  we  went  through  Most 
beautiful  Groves  of  Sugar  trees  &  spent  ye  best  part  of  ye  Day 
in  admiring  ye  trees  &  richness  of  ye  land. ' ' 

It  would  seem  from  his  Diary,  while  at  Mount  Vernon,  from 
1783  to  1789,  that  he  was  endeavoring  to  have  good  represen- 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS.  353 

tative  specimens  of  all  or  most  of  our  beautiful  forest  trees 
which  would  thrive  in  this  climate  transplanted  to  his  grounds. 
He  continued  to  give  close,  personal  attention  to  this  matter 
until  he  was  called  to  assume  the  duties  of  President  of  the 
United  States. 37  Kven  then  he  did  not  intermit  his  interest,  as 
his  letters  of  instruction  to  his  overseers,  and  his  shipments  of 

37  The  4th  of  March,  1789,  had  been  fixed  for  the  meeting  of  the  First 
Congress  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  an  election  for 
President  directed  to  be  held  in  February,  1789.     It  had  been  announced 
that  the  people  of  nine  of  the  thirteen  States  had  approved  and  adopted 
the  Constitution  submitted  through  the  legislatures  to  them.     Two, 
Rhode  Island  and  North  Carolina,  had  not  come  to  a  decisive  action,  but 
did  within  two  years  provided  for.     The  absence  of  a  quorum  prevented 
the  organization  of  Congress  until  the  6th  of  April.     The  votes  of  the 
electors  were  then  opened  and  counted,  and  George  Washington's  elec- 
tion to  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States,  which  was  duly  declared,  and 
a  special  messenger,  Charles  Thomson,  dispatched  to  Mount  Vernon  with 
an  official  letter  from  the  President  of  the  Senate  to  General  Washington 
notifying  him  of  the  fact  and  requesting  his  attendance.     Washington 
was  deeply  sensible  of  the  responsibility  attached  to  the  office,  as  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  his  diary  written  the  day  of  his  departure  for  New 
York,  April  16,  1789,  Mrs.  Washington  following  him,  leaving  Mount 
Vernon  igth  May  ;  "About  ten  o'clock  I  bade  adieu  to  Mount  Vernon, 
to  private  life,  and  to  domestic  felicity,  and  with  a  mind  oppressed  with 
more  anxious  and  painful  sensations  than  I  have  words  to  express,  set  out 
for  New  York  in  company  with  Mr.  Thomson  and  Colonel  Humphreys, 
with  the  best  disposition  to  render  service  to  my  country  in  obedience  to 
its  calls,  but  with  less  hope  of  answering  its  expectations."     In  a  letter 
to  General  Knox  April  ist,  1789,  he  wrote  :  "I  feel  for  those  members  of 
the  new  Congress,  who  hitherto  have  given  an  unwavering  attendance  at 
the  theater  of  action.     For  myself,  the  delay  may  be  compared  to  a  re- 
prieve ;  for  in  confidence  I  tell  you,  (with  the  world  it  would  obtain  little 
credit)  that  my  movements  to  the  chair  of  government  will  be  accompa- 
nied by  feelings  not  unlike  those  of  a  culprit  who  is  going  to  the  place  of 
his  execution.    So  unwilling  am  I  in  the  evening  of  life,  nearly  consumed 
in  public  cares,  to  quit  a  peaceful  abode  for  an  ocean  of  difficulties,  with- 
out  that  competency  of  political  skill,  abilities,  and  inclination,  which 
are  necessary  to  manage  the  helm.     I  am  sensible  that  I  am  embarking 
the  voice  of  the  people  and  a  good  name  of  my  own,  on  this  voyage,  but 
what  returns  can  be  made  of  them,  Heaven  alone  can  foretell.     Integrity 
and  firmness  are  all  I  can  promise.     These,  be  the  voyage  long  or  short, 
shall  never  forsake  me  ;  although  I  may  be  deserted  by  all  men  ;  for  of 
the  consolations  which  are  to  be  derived  from  them,  under  any  circum- 
stances, the  world  cannot  deprive  me." 


354  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

shrubbery  to  Mount  Vernon  testify.  A  bill  from  Bartram's 
Nursery  at  Philadelphia,  as  late  as  1792,  of  choice  shrubbery 
to  make  good  failures  of  plants  in  a  former  order,  is  preserved 
in  the  Department  of  State.  The  first  has  also  been  preserved, 
but  is  without  date.  They  illustrate  so  well  his  taste  and  fond- 
ness for  beautiful  trees  and  shrubbery  and  his  attention  to  the 
embellishment  of  his  Mount  Vernon  grounds,  that  the  latter 
order  is  given  in  full  in  a  note.38 

38  The  writer  some  years  since  gave  a  copy  of  this  list  of  trees  and 
shrubs,  the  original  of  which  is  preserved  among  the  Washington  papers 
in  the  Department  of  State,  to  one  of  the  vice-regents  of  Mount  Vernon, 
who,  it  is  understood,  is  making  an  effort  to  have  restored  to  the  lawns 
and  gardens  as  many  specimens  of  the  trees  and  shrubs,  known  to  have 
been  planted  there  by  Washington,  as  is  practicable.  It  is  also  reported 
that  this  lady  submitted  the  list  to  one  of  the  leading  florists  of  our 
country  and  has  already  made  progress  in  having  specimens  called  for  in 
this  list,  planted  at  Mount  Vernon. 

List  of  Trees  Shrubs  &c?  had  of  Jn?  Bartram  to  supply  the  place  of 
those  of  his  catalogue  of  M;  92  which  failed. 

Nov?  7th   I792. 

N?  2.d  Ulex  europeus  B  grows  frm  3  to  4  feet  high.     Embellished  with 

sweet  scented  flowers  of  a  fine  yellow  colour, 
a.  3.  Hyperieum  kalmeanum  3  to  4  ft.     Profusely  garnished  with  fine 

gold  coloured  blossoms — 2  plants. 
4.  Hyperie :    Angustifolium   3  to  6  ft.     Bvergreen,    adorned  with   fine 

yellow  flowers. 
e.  5.   Taxus  procumbens  3  to  6  ft.     Bvergreen — of  a  splendid  full  green 

throughout  the  year — red  berries. 

6.  Buscus  aureus  B  3  to  10  ft.     Blegant,  called  gilded  box. 

7.  Daphne  mezerium  B.    i  to  3  ft.     An  early  flowering  sweet  scented 

little  Shrub. 
7.  Calycanthus  floridus  4  to  8  ft.     Odoriferous,  its  blossoms  scented  like 

the  Pine  apple. 
B.  10.  ,<5$sculus  hippocastanum  20,  40,  to  50  ft.     A  magnificent  flowering 

and  shady  tree. 
ii.  Bvonimus  atrapurpurius  6  to  8  ft.     Its  fruit  of  a  bright  crimson  in 

the  autumn  (burning  bush}  3  plants. 
13.  Franklinia  3,  15  to  20  ft.     Flowers  large,  white  and  fragrant.     Native 

of  Georgia. 
16.  Kalmia  angustifolia  i  to  2  ft.     Bvergreen  garnished  with   crimson 

speckled  flowers,  4  plants. 

24.  Halesia  tetraptera  4,  10,  to  15  ft.      Flowers  abundant,  white,  of  the 

shape  of  little  bells. 

25.  Viburnum  opulifolium  3  to  7  ft.    Of  singular  beauty  in  flower  &  fruit. 
27.  Virburnum  alnifolium  3  to  6  ft.     Handsome  flowering  shrub. 

29.  Sorbus  Sativa  B  10,  15  to  30  ft.     It's  fruit  pear  and  apple  shaped,  as 

large  and  well  tasted  when  mellow. 
31.  Sorbus  aucuparia  8,  15  to  30  ft.     Foliage  elegant:  embellished  with 

umbells  of  coral  red  berries. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS,  355 

Washington  was  strongly  inclined  to  engage  in  experimental 
tests  and  demonstrations,  and  on  a  wide  range  of  subjects,  as 
the  following  extracts  from  his  Diary  will  evince  : 

"December  i,  1785.  ******  in  order  to  try 
the  difference  between  burning  Spermaciti  and  tallow  candles 
— I  took  one  of  each 

"The  i?1  weighing  3  oz  10  p  6  gr 

"    2?     Ditto       5    "     2  p 

and  lighted  them  at  the  same  instant — the  first  burnt  8  hours 
and  21  minutes ;  when  of  the  latter  there  remained  14  penny- 
weights which  continued  to  burn  one  hour  and  a  quarter 
longer,  making  in  all  9  hours  and  30  minutes. — By  which  it 
appears  (as  both  burnt  without  flailing)  that,  estimating 
Spermaciti  Candles  at  3  /  per  Ib  &  Tallow  candles  at  i  /  pT  Ib 
the  former  is  dearer  than  the  latter  as  30  is  to  nearly  13.  In 
other  words  more  than  2  ^  dearer. ' ' 

e.  36.  Stewartea  malachodendron  5  to  8  ft.  Floriferous,  the  flowers  large 
and  white,  embellished  with  a  large  tuft  of  black  or  purple 
threads  in  their  centre. 

38.  Styrax  grandifolium  3  to  10  ft.     A  most  charming  flowering  shrub, 

blossoms  snow  white,  &  of  the  most  grateful   scent  (call'd 
Snow-drop  tree.) 

39.  Philadelphus  coronarius  B  4,  6,  10  ft.     A  sweet  flowering  shrub  (called 

mock  orange). 

40.  Philadelphus  inodorus  5,  7,  10  ft.     His  robe  a  silver  flowered  mantle. 
641.  Pinus  Strobus  50,  80,  100  ft.     Magnificent!  he  presides  in  the  ever- 
green Groves  (White  Pine),  4 plants. 

*f42.  Pinus  communis  E  20,  40,  60  ft.  A  stately  tree,  foliage  of  a  Sea 
green  colour,  and  exhibits  a  good  appearance  whilst  young. 
(Scotch  Fir.} 

*43.  Pinus  Ivarix  E  40  to  60  ft.     Elegant  figure  &  foliage. 

45.  Robinia  villosa  i,  2,  3,  5,  6  ft.  A  gay  shrub  enrobed  with  plum'd 
leaves  and  roseat  flowers,  3  plants. 

52.  Prunus  chicasa  6,  8,  10  ft.  Early  flowers,  very  fruitful ;  the  fruit 
nearly  round,  cleft,  red,  purple,  yellow  of  an  inticing  look, 
most  agreeable  taste  &  wholesome,  (chicasaw  Plum. ) 

57.  JEsculus  alba  i,  4,  6  ft.  The  branches  terminate  with  long  erect 
spikes  of  sweet  white  flowers. 

E  58.  Juniperus  sabina  i  to  5.     Evergreen. 

4~  54.  -<Esculus  pavia  6,  8,  10,  12,  15  ft.  It's  light  and  airy  foliage  crim- 
son and  variegated  flowers,  present  a  gay  &  mirthful  appear- 
ance ;  continually,  whilst  in  bloom,  visited  by  the  brilliant 
thundering  Huming-bird.  The  root  of  this  tree  is  esteemed 
preferable  to  Soap,  for  scouring  &  cleansing  woolen  clothes. 
(2  plants). 

c.  63.  Myrica  gale  2  to  4  ft.  Possesses  an  highly  aromatic,  and  very  agree- 
able scent,  (j  plants}. 

69.  Mespilus  pubescens  2,  3,  4  ft.  An  early  flowering  shrub  of  great  ele- 
gance, produces  very  pleasant  fruit.  (2  plants}. 


356  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  perhaps,  that  in  a  new  country, 
sparsely  settled,  and  with  but  few  skilled  mechanics,  early 
colonial  farmers  as  a  general  rule  continued  to  use  the  imple- 
ments they  found  in  use,  and  gave  but  little  thought  to  their 
efficiency  or  made  any  effort  to  improve  them.  The  use  of  fer- 
tilizers, too,  was  grudgingly  and  slowly  resorted  to  by  Ameri- 
can farmers,  who  affected  to  have  the  most  unbounded  faith  in 
the  strength  and  endurance  of  the  virgin  soil  of  the  country. 
The  better  farmers,  however,  gradually  began  to  study  the  best 
methods  of  keeping  up  the  tilth  of  their  lands,  and  to  experi- 
ment with  different  fertilizers  and  test  the  relative  values  of 
them  for  the  various  crops.  The  following  extract  from  Wash- 

B.  f-  72.  Colutia  arboroscens  3,  6,  10  ft.  Exhibits  a  good  appearance ; 
foliage  pinnated,  of  a  soft  pleasant  green  colour,  interspers'd 
with  large  yellow  papillionacious  flowers  in  succession. 

77.  Prunus  Divaricata  6,  8  ft.     Diciduous,  flowers  white  in  raumes,  stems 

diverging  &  branches  pendulous. 

78.  Hydrangia  arborescens  3,  5,  to   6  ft.     Ornamental    in   shruberies — 

flowers  white  in  large  corymbes. 

79.  Andromeda  exilaris  i  to  3  ft.     Kvergreen. 

80.  Acer  pumilum,  s,  montanum  4  to  8  ft.     Handsome  shrub  for  coppices 

foliage  singular,  younger  shoots  red. 

84  Rubus  odoratus  3  to  7  ft.  Foliage  beautiful ;  flowers  of  the  figure, 
colour  &  fragrance  of  the  Rose. 

B.  92.  Laurus  nobilis  10,  20,  30  ft.  Sweet  Bay,  a  celebrated  evergreen — 
leaves  odoriferous. 

c.  101.  Arundo  donax  5,  6,  8  ft.     Maiden  Cane. 
In  addition  to  the  above, — 

N9  i.  Mespilus  pyracantha.  Bvergreen  Thorn,  a  very  beautiful  flower- 
ing shrub  ;  in  flowers  &  fruit,  evergreen  in  moderate  climates, 
and  not  to  be  exceeded  in  usefulness,  for  hedge  Fences  &c& 

October  30^  1792. 

The  following  Letters  in  the  margin  serve  to  explain  the  natural  soil 
&  situation  of  the  Trees,  Shrubs  &c? 

a.  rich,  moist,  loose  or  loamy  soil,  in  shade  of  other  trees. 

b.  rich  deep  soil. 

c.  wet  moorish  soil. 

d.  Dry  indifferent  soil. 

e.  A  good  loamy  moist  soil  in  any  situation. 

f.  Any  soil  and  situation. 
B.  Bxoticks. — 

[The  following  in  General  Washington's  handwriting  is  written  on 
the  same  sheet.] 

Directions  for  disposing  of  the  Trees,  Shrubs  &ca  mentioned  in  the 
aforegoing  list. — The  intention  of  giving  the  heights  to  which  they  may 
grow,  is,  that  except  in  the  centre  of  the  Six  Ovals  in  the  west  Lawn  ; — 
and  at  each  end  of  the  two  large  Ovals  ;  none  of  the  tall,  or  lofty  grow- 
ing trees  (evergreens)  are  to  be  planted.— But  this  I  would  have  done  in 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  CONGRESS.  357 

ington's  Diary  shows  that  he  was  also  engaged  in  this  class  of 
experiments  :  — 

In  his  notes  and  observations  on  agriculture,  under  date  of 
April  7th,  1786,  he  records  these  experiments:  ''Cut  two  or 
three  rows  of  wheat  (cape  wheat  within  six  inches  of  the 
ground),  it  being  near  eighteen  inches  high,  that  which  was 
first  sown,  and  the  blades  of  the  whole  singed  with  the  frost." 

"Monday,  Jany  30^  1786      *      ********* 


On  sixteen  square  rod  of  ground  in  my  lower  pasture,  I  put 
140  Bushels  of  what  we  call  Marie  viz  on  4  of  these,  N°  W* 
corner  were  placed  50  bushels  —  on  4  others  S°  Wl  corner  30 
bushels  —  on  4  others  S°  El  corner  40  bushels  —  and  on  the  re- 
maining 4=  20  bushels.  This  Marl  was  spread  on  the  sod  in 
these  preportions  —  to  try  first  whether  what  we  have  denomi- 
nated to  be  Marl  possesses  any  virtue  as  a  manure  —  and 
secondly  —  if  it  does,  the  quantity  proper  for  an  acre.  '  ' 

In  a  letter  to  General  Lincoln,  dated  Mount  Vernon,  6th  Feb., 
1786,  General  Washington  uses  the  following  language  in 
relation  to  a  supposed  important  discovery  : 

'  '  The  discovery  of  extracting  fresh  water  from  salt,  by  a 
simple  process  and  without  the  aid  of  fire,  will  be  of  amazing 
importance  to  the  sons  of  Neptune,  if  it  is  not  vitiated  or  ren- 
dered nauseous  by  the  operation,  and  can  be  made  to  answer 
all  the  valuable  purposes  of  other  fresh  water  at  sea.  Every 


all  of  them  whether  any  thing  occupies  these  particular  spots,  or  not : — 
removing  them  if  they  do,  to  some  other  parts  of  the  aforesaid  Ovals. — 
At  each  end  of  the  4  Smaller  Ovals,  trees  of  middling  growth  (for  in- 
stance those  which  Rise  to  15,  20,  or  even  to  thirty  feet)  may  be  planted. — 
My  meaning  is,  that  in  the  Centre  of  every  Oval  (if  it  is  not  already 
there)  one  of  the  lofty  growing  trees  should  be  planted  ;  and  the  same 
done  at  each  end  of  the  two  large  Ovals ; — and  at  the  ends  of  the  4 
Smaller  ones,  trees  of  lesser  size  to  be  planted. — The  other  parts  of  all  of 
them  to  receive  the  Shrubs — putting  the  tallest,  always,  nearest  the  Mid- 
dle, letting  them  decline  more  into  dwarfs  towards  the  outer  parts. — This 
was  my  intention  when  they  were  planted  in  the  Ovals  last  Spring — but 
I  either  did  not  express  myself  clearly — or  the  directions  were  not  at- 
tended to. — I  now  hope  they  will  be  understood,  and  attended  to,  both. — 
The  two  trees  marked  thus  (*)  in  the  Margin,  I  would  have  planted  by 
the  Garden  gates  opposite  to  the  Spruce  Pines. — I  believe  common  pine 
are  now  in  the  places  where  I  intended  these,  but  they  may  be  removed, 
being  placed  there  merely  to  fill  up  the  space. — If  any  of  these  tall  grow- 
ing trees  are  now  in  any  other  part  of  the  Ovals,  except  those  here  men- 
tioned (and  that  you  may  be  enabled  better  to  ascertain  this,  I  send  you 


358  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS, 

maritime  power  in  the  world  in  this  case  ought,  in  my  opinion, 
to  offer  some  acknowledgment  to  the  inventor."  (Spark's 
Washington) . 

"  Feb?  6"  1786.  ******  Planting  pines  in  the 
wilderness  on  the  left  of  the  lawn  and  spading  the  ground  there. 

' '  Friday  10  Feb?  ******  Making  up  the  banks 
round  y?  Serpentine  walks  to  the  front  gate. 

' '  Saturday  n*.h  ******  Brought  a  Goose  & 
Gander  of  the  Chinese  breed  of  Geese,  from  the  Reverand 
M?  Griffiths — and  also  two  of  the  large  white  (or  Portugal) 
Peach  Trees  ; — and  2  Scions  from  a  tree  growing  in  his  garden 
to  which  he  could  give  no  name — The  last  for  my  Shrubberies. 

' '  Tuesday  Feb?  if  *  *  *  *  Employed  all  the  women 
and  weak  hands  (who  on  account  of  the  snow)  could  not  work 
out,  in  picking  the  wild  onions  from  the  Eastern  Shore  Oat  for 
seed. 

"  Monday  March  6*  ************ 
*  *  Returned  to  the  erection  of  my  deer  Paddock,  which 
the  bad  weather  had  impeaded,  brought  carts  from  the  Planta- 
tion to  assist  in  drawing  in  the  materials  for  the  work. 

"Monday  March  13*  ******  Began  to  raise 
the  Mound  of  Earth  on  the  right  of  the  Gate  coming  in. 

"  Thursday  March  16*  *********** 
Finished  the  Mound  on  the  right  and  planted  the  largest 

a  list  of  what  went  from  Bartrams  Garden  last  Spring)  I  would  have  them 
removed,  so  as  to  conform  to  thes^  directions ; — and  if  there  be  more 
with  what  are  now  sent,  than  are  sufficient  to  comply  with  these  direc- 
tions, there  may  be  one  on  each  side  of  the  two  large  Ovals,  making  five 
in  each. — You  will  observe  that  these  Pinus  Strobus  (or  white  Pines)  are 
the  loftiest  of  all  the  Tall  trees  which  now  are,  or  have  been  sent ;  and 
that  it  is  these  which  are  to  form  your  centre  trees — and  the  end  trees  of 
the  two  large  Ovals. — 

I  must  request  also  that  except  the  large  trees  for  the  Centre  &  sides 
no  regularity  may  be  observed  in  planting  the  other  in  the  Ovals. — This 
I  particularly  desired  last  Spring,  but  found  when  I  got  home  it  was  not 
attended  to. — 

When  you  have  disposed  of  all  the  trees  &  Shrubs  agreeably  to  these 
directions  return  this  Paper,  and  the  general  list  which  accompanies  it, 
back  again  to  me  ;  as  I  may  have  occasion  for  them  in  procuring  plants 
in  future. 

NOTE— If  there  are  now  growing  in  the  Ovals,  as  many  as  4  of  the  Hemlock  Spruce 
(sent  last  Spring)  let  them  be  taken  up  when  the  ground  is  hard  &  deep  frozen  in 
the  Winter,  &  placed  on  the  sides  of  the  two  large  Ovals  instead  of  the  white 
Pines,  w0}1  you  might  have  put  there  in  consequence  of  the  aforegoing  directions. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE  CONGRESS.  359 

weeping  Willow  in  my  nursery  in  the  center  of  it — ground  too 
wet  to  do  anything  to  the  other  Mound  on  the  left. 

"Saturday,  March  18*  ******  Got  the  Mound 
on  the  left  so  far  compleated  as  to  plant  the  next  largest  of  my 
weeping  willows  thereon. 

"  Tuesday,  March  28*!*  *  *  *  Replaced  the  following 
trees  in  my  Shrubberies  which  were  dead  or  supposed  to  be  so 
viz  10  Swamp  Magnolia  4  Red  Buds — 5  Black  Haws — 3 
Locusts  i  swamp  Red  Berry. 

"  Tuesday,  April  4.*!*  1786  *  *  Planted  6  of  the  pride  of 
China  brought  from  MT  Lyons  by  G.  A.  Washington  in  my 
Shrubberies  in  front  of  the  House — 3  on  each  side  the  Right  & 
left  Walks  between  the  Houses  &  garden  gates — and  also  the 
two  young  trees  sent  me  some  time  ago  by  M?  Griffith,  to  which 
no  name  had  been  given — these  latter  were  planted,  one  on 
each  side  the  right  &  left  walks, — near  the  garden  gates  on  the 
hither  or  E*  side. 

"  Thursday  6(h  ******  Transplanted  46  of  the 
large  Magnolia  of  S?  Carolina  from  the  box  brought  by  G.  A. 
Washington  last  year — viz  6  at  the  head  of  each  of  the  Ser- 
pentine Walks  next  the  circle — 26  in  the  Shrubbery  or  grove 
at  the  south  end  of  the  house  &  8  in  that  at  the  N?  end — the 
ground  was  so  wet,  more  could  not  at  this  time  be  planted 
there." 

The  following  extracts  from  Washington's  Diary  give  the 
details  of  his  experiments  in  making  what  he  called  a  '  *  Barrel 
Plow,"  to  be  attached  to  a  harrow  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
deposit  seed  in  the  ground  when  in  motion  : 

"Friday  April  7*  1786  *****  Rid  to  Muddy  hole 
Plantation  and  finding  the  ground  which  had  been  twice  plowed 
to  make  my  experiments  in  was  middling  dry  in  some  places, 
though  wet  in  others,  I  tried  my  drill  or  Barrel  Plow,  which 
requiring  some  alterations  in  the  harrow,  obliged  me  to  bring  it 
to  the  Smith' s-Shop — this  suspended  my  further  operation  with 
it  to-day. 

"April  8th  Sowed  oats  to-day  in  drills  at  Muddy  Hole  with 
my  barrel  plough  ********** 

"Aptil  nth  Sewed  twenty -six  rows  of  barley  in  the  same 
field  at  Muddy  Hole  in  the  same  manner  with  the  drill  Plough, 


360  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

and  with  precisely  the  same  workings  ( culture)  the  Oats  had — 
adjoining  thereto — This  was  done  with  12  qts  of  S£" 

During  the  spring,  summer  and  fall  of  this  year  he  con- 
tinues experiments  with  his  barrel  plough  and  says  :  ' '  Will 
try  the  experiment  of  sowing  with  a  six  foot  barrel  and  with 
grain  dropped  six  inches  square  apart. ' ' 

"  Saturday  8*  ******  Rid  a  little  after  sun  rise 
to 'Muddy  hole  to  try  my  drill  plow  again  which  with  the 
alteration  of  the  harrow  yesterday  I  find  will  fully  answer  my 
expectation — and  that  it  drops  the  grains  thicker,  or  thinner  in 
proportion  to  the  quantity  of  seed  in  the  Barrel — the  less  there 
is  in  it  the  faster  it  issues  from  the  holes — the  weight  of  a 
quantity  in  the  barrel,  occasions  I  (presume)  a  pressure  on  the 
holes  that  do  not  admit  of  a  free  discharge  of  the  seed  through 
them — whereas  a  small  quantity  (sufficient  at  all  times  to  cover 
the  bottom  of  the  barrel)  is  in  a  manner  sifted  through  them 
by  the  revolution  of  the  barrel. 

"  I  sowed  with  the  barrel  to-day  in  drills  about  3  pints  of  a 
white  well  looking  oat  brought  from  Carolina  last  year  by 
G.  A.  Washington  in  7  rows  running  from  the  path  leading 
from  the  Overseers  H?  to  the  Quarter  to  the  west  fence  of  the 
field  where  the  ground  was  in  the  best  order. — Afterwards  I 
sowed  in  such  other  parts  of  the  adjoining  ground  as  could  at 
any  rate  be  worked,  the  common  oat  of  the  Eastern  shore  (after 
picking  out  the  wild  onion)  but  in  truth  nothing  but  the  late 
season  could  warrent  sowing  in  ground  so  wet. 

'  'Monday  zo1!1  Began  my  brick  work  to-day — first  taking  the 
foundations  of  the  Garden  Houses  as  they  were  first  placed, 
and  repairing  the  damages  in  the  walls  occasioned  by  the  re- 
moval— and  also  began  to  put  my  pallisads  on  the  wall. — 

' '  Compleated  sowing  with  20  quarts  the  drilled  oats  in  the 
ground  intended  for  experiments  at  Muddy  hole ;  which 
amounted  to  38  Rows  ten  feet  apart  (including  the  parts  of 
Rows  sowed  on  Saturday  last) — in  the  afternoon  I  began  to 
sow  Barley,  but  finding  there  were  too  many  Seeds  discharged 
from  the  barrel  notwithstanding  I  stopped  every  other  hole,  I 
discontinued  the  sowing  until  another  Barrel  with  smaller  holes 
c'd  be  prepared. — The  ground  in  which  these  oats  have  been 
sowed — and  in  which  the  Barley  seeding  had  commenced — has 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  361 

been  plowed,  listed  (as  it  is  called,  that  is  3  furrow  ridges)  and 
twice  harrowed  in  with  the  manure  afterwd? 

' '  Began  also  to  sow  the  Siberian  Wheat  which  I  had  obtained 
from  Baltimore  by  means  of  Col  Tilghman,  at  the  Ferry 
Plantation  in  the  ground  laid  apart  there  for  experiments. — 
This  was  done  upon  ground  which,  some  time  ago,  had  been 
marked  off  by  furrows  8  feet  apart  in  which  a  second  furrow 
had  been  run  to  deepen  them.  — 4  furrows  were  then  plowed  to 
these  which  made  the  whole  5  furrow  Ridges. — These  being 
done  some  time  ago,  and  by  frequent  rains  prevented  sowing  at 
the  time  intended, — had  got  hard, — I  therefore  before  the  seed 
was  sowed,  split  these  Ridges  again,  by  running  twice  in  the 
same  furrow,  after  wc!*  I  harrowed  the  ridges,  and 'where  the 
ground  was  lumpy,  run  my  spiked  Roler  with  the  harrow  at 
the  tale  over  it, — w^h  I  found  very  efficacious  in  breaking  the 
clods  &  pulverizing  the  earth ;  and  would  have  done  it  per- 
fectly if  there  had  not  been  too  much  moisture  remaining  of 
the  late  rains. 

' '  After  this  harrowing  &  rolling  where  necessary,  I  sowed 
the  wheat  with  my  drill  plow  on  the  reduced  ridges  in  rows  8 
feet  apart — but  I  should  have  observed  that  after  the  ridges 
were  split  by  the  furrow  in  the  middle,  and  before  the  furrows 
were  closed  again  by  the  harrow — I  sprinkled  a  little  manure 
in  them. — Finding  the  barrel  discharged  the  wheat  too  fast, 
I  did,  after  sowing  9  of  the  shortest  (for  We  began  at  the 
farthest  corner  of  the  field)  rows,  I  stopped  every  other  hole  in 
the  barrel,  and  in  this  manner  sowed  5  rows  more,  &  still 
thinking  the  seed  too  liberally  bestowed,  I  stopped  2  &  left  one 
hole  open  alternately,  by  which  4  out  of  12  holes  only,  dis- 
charged seed,  and  this,  as  I  had  taken  the  strap  of  leather  off 
seemed  to  give  seed  enough  (though  not  so  regular  as  were  to 
be  wished) — to  the  ground. 

11  Tuesday  n1!1  ************* 
*****  Sowing  the  Siberian  Wheat  to-day,  as  yester- 
day at  the  Ferry. 

"  And  sowed  26  rows  of  Barley  (except  a  little  at  each  end 
wc.h  was  too  wet  for  the  ground  to  be  worked)  at  Muddy  hole 
below  &  adjoining  the  oats — This  was  done  with  12  quarts  of 


362  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

seed  and  in  the  manner,  and  in  ground  prepared  as  mentioned 
yesterday . 

11  Wednesday   12th.     ************** 

"  Rid  to  the  fishing  landing,  Ferry,  Dogue  Run,  and  Muddy 
hole  plantations. — Finished  at  the  first  sowing  the  ground 
intended  for  experiments  with  Siberian  Wheat — this  spot  con- 
tained 16^  i?  24?  including  the  fodder  H°  &?  which  would 
reduce  the  cultivated  land  to  10  acres  at  most. 

' 4  At  Muddy  hole,  I  sowed  two  rows  of  the  Albany  Peas  in 
Drills  10  feet  assunder  (the  same  as  the  Oats  and  Barley)  but 
conceiving  they  could  not  for  want  of  support  be  prevented 
from  falling  when  they  sh?  come  near  their  growth  I  did  not 
incline  to  sow  any  more  in  this  way  but  to  put  all  the  ground 
between  these  two  rows  and  the  fence  along  the  road  in  broad 
Cast. — The  ground  in  which  these  Peas  were  sowed  was  man- 
aged exactly  as  that  had  been  in  which  the  Barley  &  Oats  (at 
this  place)  was — 

"  Monday  May  81!1  1786  *  *  *  *  * 

*  *  *  *  ***** 

Sent  a  Carpenter  to  put  a  new  axle  and  do  some  other  Repairs 
to  the  Barrel  Plow  at  Dogue  Run. 39 

39  Washington  in  the  following  letter  to  his  friend  Theodoric  Bland, 
Bsq.,  to  whom  he  sends  one  of  his  barrel  plouws  for  a  trial,  in  his  letter 
gives  a  good  description  of  the  drill : 

MOUNT  VERNON,  28^   Decembrs  1786. 
Dear  Sir, 

I  am  now  about  to  fulfill  my  promise  with  respect  to  the  drill  plow  and 
timothy  seed.  Both  accompany  this  letter  to  Norfolk,  to  the  care  of  MT  Newton.  The 
latter  I  presume  is  good,  as  I  had  it  from  a  gentleman  on  whom  I  can  depend.  The 
former  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  inform  you,  will  not  work  to  good  effect  in  land  that 
is  very  full  either  of  stumps,  stones,  or  large  clods  ;  but  where  the  ground  is  tolerably 
free  from  these  and  in  good  tilth,  and  particularly  in  light  land,  I  am  certain  you  will 
find  it  equal  to  your  most  sanguine  expectation,  for  Indian  corn,  wheat  barley,  pease, 
or  any  other  tolerably  round  grain,  that  you  may  wish  to  sow,  or  plant  in  this  manner. 
I  have  sown  oats  very  well  with  it,  which  is  among  the  most  inconvenient  and  unfit 
grains  for  this  machine. 

To  give  you  a  just  idea  of  the  use  and  management  of  it,  I  must  observe,  that  the 
barrel  at  present  has  only  one  set  of  holes,  and  these  adapted  for  the  planting  of 
Indian  corn,  only  eight  inches  apart  in  the  row  ;  but  by  corking  these,  the  same  barrel 
may  receive  others,  of  a  size  fitted  for  any  other  grain.  To  make  the  holes,  observe 
this  rule  ;  begin  small  and  increase  the  size  till  they  admit  the  number  of  grains,  or 
thereabouts  you  would  choose  to  deposit  in  place.  They  should  be  burnt,  and  done  by 
a  guage,  that  all  may  be  of  a  size,  and  made  widest  on  the  outside,  to  prevent  the 
seeds  choking  them.  You  may,  in  a  degree,  emit  more  or  less  through  the  same  holes, 
by  increasing  or  lessening  the  quantity  of  seed  in  the  barrel.  The  less  there  is  in  it, 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   CONGRESS.  363 

"  Tuesday  9*  ******* 

**  ******** 

Found  the  Flax  in  the  Neck  had  come  up  and  full  thick  ; — 
and  that  the  grass  seeds  (rather  Millet)  obtn.d  from  Col?  Gary 
had  come  up  ;  but  none  of  the  Saintfoiii,  Burnet  or  Rib  grass 
appeared  to  be  springing, — finished  planting,  with  the  Barrel 
Plow,  the  early  Corn  in  the  farthest  cut  in  the  field  for  experi- 
ments in  the  Neck. — and  not  having  enough  to  compleat 
another  cut  in  the  same  field  I  ordered  all  the  remaining  part 
of  it  to  be  drilled  with  common  corn — accordingly  about  Noon 
the  intermediate  rows  in  the  middle  cut  which  had  been  left 
for  the  early  corn  were  begun  to  be  planted  with  the  other. 

"Satiirday  if.h       *         *         *         * 
********* 

' '  Finished  (yesterday  evening)  planting  Corn  with  the 
Barrel  Plow,  in  the  cut  intended  for  experiments  at  Dogue 
Run. 

"  Tuesday  /#******  At  Muddy  hole  they 
finished  planting  Corn  about  10  Oclock — At  this  place  I  tried 
a  3  hoed  harrow  which  I  had  just  made,  with  a  single  horse. 
— Upon  the  whole  it  answered  very  well — The  draft  seemed 

the  faster  it  issues.  The  compressure  is  increased  by  the  quantity,  and  the  discharge 
is  retarded  thereby.  The  use  of  the  band  is  to  prevent  the  seeds  issuing  out  of  more 
holes  than  one  at  a  time.  It  may  be  slackened  or  braced  according  to  the  influence 
the  atmosphere  has  on  the  leather.  The  tighter  it  is  provided  the  wheel  revolves 
easily,  the  better.  By  decreasing  or  multiplying  the  holes  in  the  barrel,  you  may  plant 
at  any  distance  you  please.  The  circumpherance  of  the  wheels  being  six  feet  or 
seventy-two  inches,  divide  the  latter  by  the  number  of  inches  you  intend  your  plants 
shall  be  assunder,  and  it  gives  the  number  of  holes  required  in  the  barrel. 

By  the  sparse  situation  of  the  teeth  in  the  harrow,  it  is  designed  that  the  ground 
may  be  raked  without  the  harrow  being  clogged  if  the  ground  should  be  cloddy  or 
grassy.  The  string  when  this  happens  to  be  the  case,  will  raise  and  clean  it  with 
great  ease,  and  is  of  service  in  turning  at  the  ends  of  rows  ;  at  which  time  the  wheels, 
by  means  of  the  handles,  are  raised  off  the  ground  as  well  as  the  harrow,  to  prevent 
the  waste  of  seed.  A  small  bag  containing  about  a  peck  of  the  seed  you  are  sowing  is 
hung  to  the  nails  in  the  right  handle,  and  with  a  small  tin  cup  the  barrel  is  replen- 
ished with  convenience,  whenever  it  is  necessary  without  loss  of  time  or  waiting  to 
come  up  with  the  seed-bag  at  the  end  of  the  row.  I  had  almost  forgot  to  tell  you  that  if 
the  hole  in  the  leather  band,  through  which  the  seed  is  to  pass  when  it  comes  in  contact 
with  the  hole  in  the  barrel  should  incline  to  gape,  or  the  lips  of  it  turn  out,  so  as  to 
admit  the  seed  between  the  band  and  barrel,  it  must  be  remedied  by  riveting  a  piece 
of  sheet  tin,  copper,  or  brass  the  width  of  the  band  and  about  four  inches  long,  with  a 
hole  through  it,  the  size  of  the  one  in  the  leather.  I  found  this  effectual. 

I  am  dear  sir  & 

G?  WASHINGTON 
To  THEODORIC  BLAND  Esq 


364  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

rather  hard  for  one  horse  but  the  late  rains  had  made  the 
ground  heavier  than  usual. 

'  '  Monday  May  22*  *  *  Began  to  take  up  the  pavement 
of  the  Piaza. 

11  Tuesday  May  23*  *         *         * 

Replanting  the  common  corn  which  had  been  drilled  at  Muddy 
hole  —  finished  planting  peas  with  the  Barrel  in  the  Neck  on 
Saturday  last.  —  And  listing  the  corn  ground  at  the  same  place 

this  day,  for  planting  in  the  common  way. 
*##***###*# 

"  And  this  day  began  to  lay  the  Flags  in  my  Piaza40  — 
Cornelius  and  Tom  Davis  assisting. 

40  The  following  letter  is  given  in  a  note  by  Sparks  : 


General  Washington  presents  his  compliments  to  M^  Rumney  —  would  esteem  it  as 
a  particular  favor  if  M^  Rumney  would  make  the  following  enquiries  as  soon  as  con- 
venient, after  his  arrival  in  England  ;  and  communicate  the  result  of  them  by  the 
Packet,  or  any  other  safe  and  expeditious  conveyence  to  this  country.  First.  The  terms 
upon  which  the  best  kind  of  Whitehaven  Flag  stone—  Black  and  White  in  equal  quan- 
tities—could be  delivered  at  the  port  of  Alexandria  by  the  superficial  foot,  workman- 
ship, freight  and  every  other  incidental  charge  included.—  The  stone  to  be  2^  inches, 
or  thereabouts,  thick,  and  exactly  a  foot  square—  each  kind.  To  have  a  rich  polished 
face,  and  good  joints  so  as  that  a  neat  floor  may  be  made  therewith. 

2nd  Upon  what  terms  the  common  Irish  Marble  (black  &  white  if  to  be  had)—  same 
dimentions,  could  be  delivered  as  above. 

3!??  As  the  General  has  been  informed  of  a  very  cheap  kind  of  Marble,  good  in 
quality,  at  or  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ostend,  he  would  thank  M^  Rumney,  if  it  should 
fall  in  his  way,  to  institute  an  inquiry  into  this  also.  On  the  Report  of  M^  Rumney, 
the  General  will  take  his  ultimate  determination  ;  for  which  reason  he  prays  him  to 
be  precise  and  exact.  The  Piazza  or  Colonade  for  which  this  is  wanted  as  a  floor  is 
iiinet}'  two  feet  eight  inches,  by  twelve  feet  eight  inches  within  the  margin,  or  border 
that  surrounds  it.  Over  and  above  the  quantity  here  mentioned,  if  the  above  flags  are 
cheap  —  or  a  cheaper  kind  of  hard  Stone  could  be  had  he  would  get  as  much  as  would 
lay  floors  in  the  Circular  Colonades,  or  covered  ways  at  the  wings  of  the  House  —  each 
of  which  at  the  outer  curve  is  38  feet  in  length  by  7  feet  2  inches  in  width  within  the 
margin  or  border  as  aforesaid. 

The  General  being  in  want  of  a  house  Joiner  &  Bricklayer  who  understand  their 
respective  trades  perfectly,  would  thank  M^  Rumney  for  inquiring  into  the  terms  upon 
which  such  workmen  might  be  engaged  for  two  or  three  years  ;  (the  time  of  service  to 
commence  upon  the  ship's  arrival  at  Alexandria)  a  shorter  term  than  two  years  would 
not  answer,  because  foreigners  generally  have  a  seasoning  ;  which  with  other  interup- 
tions  too  frequently  waste  the  greater  part  of  the  first  year—  more  to  the  disadvantage 
of  the  employer  than  the  employed.—  Bed  board  &  tools  to  be  found  by  the  former, 
clothing  by  the  latter. 

If  two  men  of  the  above  trades  and  of  orderly  and  quiet  deportment  could  be  ob- 
tained for  twenty  five  or  even  thirty  pounds  sterling  per  annum  each  (estimating  dol- 
lars at  4/  6)  the  General,  rather  than  sustain  the  loss  of  time  necessary  for  communica. 
tion  would  be  obliged  to  M^  Rumney  for  entering  into  proper  obligatory  articles  of 
agreement  on  his  behalf  with  them  by  the  first  vessel  bound  to  this  Port. 

G?  WASHINGTON 
MOUNT  VERNON,  July  5  1784  , 

To  WM  RUMNEY  of  Alexandria  Va 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  365 

' '  Saturday  2?ih  Finished  laying  28  courses  of  the  pave- 
ment in  the  Piaza — Weather  very  unfavorable  for  it. 

Mr.  Dodge,  the  efficient  superintendent  of  Mount  Vernon,  has  fur- 
nished me  with  a  copy  of  the  following  unpublished  letter  of  General 
Washington  to  John  Rumney  relative  to  the  flagging  used  in  paving  the 
piazza : 

MOUNT  VERNON,  V A.  June  22?  ,1783* 

Sir 

I  stand  indebted  to  you  for  two  letters,  one  of  the  tf*1  of  Sep.,  the  other  of  the  9  ^h 
of  Febv  The  first  should  not  have  remained  so  long  unacknowledged  but  for  the  ex- 
pectation I  had  of  the  second.  The  second  lead  me  to  expect  a  third  ;  upon  the  re- 
ceipt of  which  I  had  laid  my  account  to  have  given  you  but  one  trouble,  by  replying  to 
them  all  at  the  same  time. 

Permit  me  to  thank  you  Sir  for  your  attention  to  my  commissions.  The  Joiner 
arrived  safe,  and  I  believe  will  fully  answer  your  description  &  expectation  of  him. 
He  gives  great  satisfaction  ;  and  seems  well  satisfied  himself.  The  expense  of  his 
passage,  &  your  advance  to  him,  has  been  paid  to  M^  Sanderson.  I  delayed  mak- 
ing choice  of  either  of  the  samples  of  Flagstones  until  I  had  seen  the  Irish  marble  ; 
and  was  made  acquainted  with  the  cost  of  it ;  but  as  it  did  not  come  in  your  last  ship, 
and  I  like  the  whitest  &  cheapest  of  the  three  kinds  which  you  sent  me  by  Capt. 
Atkinson  ;  I  request  the  favor  of  you  to  forward  by  the  first  opportunity  (with  some  to 
spare  in  case  of  breakage,  or  other  accident)  as  much  of  this  sort,  as  will  floor  the 
Gallery  in  front  of  my  house  which,  within  the  margin,  or  border  that  surrounds  it, 
(and  which  is  already  laid  with  a  hard  stone  of  the  country)  is  92  feet  7%  inches,  by  12 
feet  9%;  inches. 

Having  given  the  exact  dimension  of  the  floor,  or  space  which  is  to  be  laid  with 
flag-stone,  I  shall  leave  it  to  the  workman  to  form  them  of  such  a  size,  not  less  than 
a  foot  square,  and  of  the  same  dimensions  as  he  thinks  will  answer  best,  and  accord 
most  with  the  taste  of  the  times. 

I  take  it  for  granted  that  7^  or  8d  is  the  price  of  the  white  stone  in  the  prepared 
state  in  which  it  was  sent ;  and  that  the  shipping  charges,  &  freight  only,  are  to  be 
added  to  the  cost.  If  a  rough  estimate  of  the  latter  had  been  mentioned,  it  would 
have  been  more  pleasing  ;  as  I  then  could  have  prepared  accordingly.  I  am  at  a  loss 
to  determine  in  what  manner  these  dressed  flags  can  be  brought  without  incurring 
much  expense,  or  being  liable  to  great  damage.  To  put  them  in  cases  will  involve  the 
first,  and  to  stow  them  loose,  the  other  may  be  sustained  ;  unless  great  care  is  used  in 
the  storage,  which  is  rarely  to  be  met  with  among  Sailors,-even  in  Masters  of  vessels. 

If  the  flags  are  well  dressed,  a  little  matter  will  chip  the  edges,  and  break  the 
corners,  which,  by  disfiguring  the  work  would  be  hurtful  to  the  eye. 

I  will  give  no  direction  therefore  on  this  head,  your  own  judgment  on  the  spot, 
must  dictate  ;  at  the  same  time,  I  have  but  little  doubt,  if  they  are  placed  in  the  Hold 
of  the  Ship,  with  Hay  and  Straw  to  keep  them  from  rubbing,  of  their  coming  without 
damage. 

I  will  soon  follow  this  letter  with  a  remittance  from  hence,  or  a  draught  on  London 
for  a  sum  to  enable  you  to  discharge  the  undertaker. 

In  the  meanwhile,  let  me  pray  you  to  hasten  the  execution,  and  the  shipping  of 

them  as  my  Gallery  needs  a  floor  very  much. 

With  great  esteem  &  regard 

I  am,  Sir, 

Your  most  ob*  Hb.le  SerY1 
[Signed.]    G?   WASHINGTON. 
Mr  JN?  RUMNEY. 

*This  letter,  it  is  apprehended,  has  either  a  false  date  or  place  where  it  was  written. 
It  is  surmised  1785  is  the  proper  year. 


366  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   CONGRESS. 

"  Tuesday  June  2  fh.  1786  *  *  *  Finding  the  hoe  Har- 
row did  not  do  good  work  in  the  drilled  Corn  I  ordered  it  to 
desist  and  the  Bar  Share  plow  to  be  used,  till  the  common  corn 
was  all  crossed  after  which  to  use  it  when  the  ground  was 
worked  the  other  way. 

"Wednesday  July  26*  1786  *  *  *  *  * 
##*#**#**** 

c '  Having  fixed  a  Roller  to  the  tale  of  my  drill  plow,  and  a 
brush  harrow  between  it  &  the  barrel,  I  sent  it  by  G.  A.  Wash- 
ington to  Muddy  hole  and  had  the  intervals  between  the  corn 
which  had  been  left  for  the  purpose  sowed  with  Turnips  in 
drills  and  with  which  it  was  done  very  well."41 

41  Throughout  this  summer,  Washington  had  paid  special  attention  to 
all  the  operations  on  his  various  plantations  and  to  improving  the  imple- 
ments of  husbandry  in  use  by  his  people.  He,  also,  in  a  letter  August  6th 

1786,  to  Arthur  Young,  his  English  correspondent  on  improvements  in 
agriculture,  avails  himself  of  the  proffer  of  his  services  to  fill  an  order  for 
some  seeds  and  two  plows  in  the  following  words  :  "I  will  give  you  the 
trouble,  Sir,  of  providing  and  sending  to  the  care  of  Wakelin  Welch,  of 
London,  merchant,  the  following  articles.     Two  of  the  simplest  and  best 
constructed  ploughs  for  land  which  is  neither  very  heavy  nor  sandy  ;  to 
be  drawn  by  two  horses  ;  to  have  spare  shares  and  coulters ;  and  a  mould, 
on  which  to  form  new  irons,  when  the  old  ones  are  worn  out,  or  will  re- 
quire repairing.     I  will  take  the  liberty  to  observe,  that  some  years  ago, 
from  a  description  or  recommendation  thereof,  which  I  had  somewhere 
met  with,  I  sent  to  England  for  what  was  then  called  the  Rotherham  or 
patent  plough  ;  and,  till  it  began  to  wear  and  was  ruined  by  a  bungling 
country  smith,  that  no  plough  could  have  done  better  work,  or  appeared 
to  have  gone  easier  with  two  horses  ;  but  for  want  of  a  mould,  which  I 
neglected  to  order  with  the  plough,  it  became  useless,  after  the  irons, 
which  came  with  it  were  much  worn." 

In  another  letter  to  Mr.  Young  from  Mount  Vernon,  November  ist, 

1787,  Washington  says ;  "The  grain  Grass  seeds,  ploughs,  &c,  arrived  at 
the  same  time  agreeably  to  the  list,  but  some  of  the  former  were  injured, 
as  will  always  be  the  case,   by  being  put  into  the  hold  of  the  vessel ; 
however  upon  the  whole,  they  were  in  much  better  order  than  these 
things  are  generally  found  to  be,  when  brought  across  the  Atlantic. 
*****•*********#**       * 

"I  have  tried  the  ploughs  which  yon  sent  me,  and  find  that  they 
answer  the  description  which  you  gave  of  them  ;  this  is  contrary  to  the 
opinion  of  almost  every  one  who  saw  them  before  they  were  used  ;  for  it 
was  thought  their  great  weight  would  be  an  insuperable  objection  to  their 
being  drawn  by  two  horses." 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS.  367 

The  Mount  Vernon  plantations  were  now  all  in  good  tilth, 
and  Washington  was  picturing  to  himself  the  pleasure  and 
comfort  which  he  had  long  hoped  to  enjoy  in  their  manage- 
ment, with  time  for  studying  the  more  scientific  method  of 
agriculture. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  ' '  What  is  the  elevation  of  the 
Mount  Vernon  Mansion-house  above  the  level  of  the  Potomac 
river  ?  "  I  felicitate  myself  on  being  able  to  answer  this  inquiry 
from  data  ascertained  by  an  actual  leveling  from  the  edge  of 
the  piazza  opposite  the  centre  door  to  high-water  mark 
near  the  wharf,  distant  660  feet,  made  by  General  Washington 
himself  in  1786.  The  actual  elevation  of  the  pavement  of  the 
piazza  above  high-water  mark,  as  ascertained  by  this  survey, 
is  124  feet  io)4  inches.42 

The  home-life  of  Washington  at  Mount  Vernon  and  his 
efforts  to  embellish  it,  which  are  told  with  such  ingenuousness  in 
his  Diaries,  almost  compel  further  quotations  : 

" Monday  May  29^  1786 — About  9  o'clock  MT  Tobias  I^ear, 
who  had  been  previously  engaged  on  a  salary  of  200  dollars,  to 
live  with  me  as  a  private  secretary,  and  preceptor  for  Washing- 
ton Custis,  a  year,  came  here  from  New  Hampshire,  at  which 
place  his  friends  reside. « 

"  Friday,  June  i6ih.  1786.  Began  about  10  o'clock  to  put  up 
the  book-press  in  my  study." 

Washington's  Diaries  show  numerous  instances  of  his  kind- 
ness to  and  consideration  for  his  servants  ;  visiting  them  when 
sick  and,  if  seriously  ill,  bringing  them  to  the  home  house  to  be 
nursed.  Frequently  he  denominates  them,  as  in  the  follow- 
ing extract,  ' c  my  people, ' '  in  giving  them  a  day  to  visit  the 
Races,  one- third  each  day  ;  at  suitable  seasons  giving  them  a 


43  The  following  receipt  signed  Wm  Shaw,  the  clerk  who  preceded  Mr. 
Ivear  in  service  at  Mount  Vernon,  in  the  handwriting  of  General  Wash- 
ington, is  preserved  among  his  papers  in  the  possession  of  Lawrence 
Washington  ; 

"  MOUNT  VERNON,  August  12 .  1786  Received  from  G.  Washington  the  sum  of  Fifty- 
six  pounds  two  shilling,  Virga  Currv  equal  to  .£42.16  sterling  in  full  for  services  rendered 
him  as  secretary  &c  from  the  26t.h  day  of  July  1785  when  I  came  into  the  family,  until  the 
arrival  of  Mr  Lear  on  the  29^  day  of  May  in  the  present  year. 

W?1  SHAW 


368 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 


42  The  following  record,  in  Washington's  handwriting,  of  the  line  of 
survey,  with  the  several  benches  used  in  leveling  from  the  centre  door  of 
the  Mansion  House  at  Mount  Vernon  to  near  the  present  steamboat 
wharf  is  preserved  among  the  Washington  papers  in  the  Department  of 
State,  and  of  which  the  following  is  a  literal  transcript : 

Fall,  from  the  level  of  the  Piazza  to  high  water  mark  in  a  Rectangular  course  from  the 

centre  door. — 


Q 

lyength 
I^evel. 

FALL. 

TOTAL  FALL. 

REMARKS. 

Ft.     In.     ya 

Ft.     In.    % 

I 
2 

12 

do. 

2 

4 
9 

i 

Beginning  on  the  pavement  of  the  Piazza, 
at  the  edge  thereof,  next  the  Grass. 

3 

I 

i 

3 

do. 

i 

2 

3 

2 

4 

4 

do. 

2 

I 

3 

4 

5 

do. 

2 

2 

3 

6 

7 

6 

do. 

4 

6 

3 

ii 

5 

7 

do. 

I 

2 

4 

5 

2 

i 

8 

do. 

I 

II 

i 

7 

I 

2 

9 

do. 

2 

8 

4 

9 

9 

6 

10 

do. 

2 

6 

2 

12 

4 

0 

ii 

do. 

3 

9 

2 

16 

i 

2 

12 

do. 

4 

3 

2 

20 

4 

4 

J3 

do. 

6 

5 

4 

26 

IO 

o 

To  the  level,  at  the  foot  of  the  low?  step 

M 

do. 

4 

2 

6 

3i 

i 

o 

at  Gate  which  is  156  feet  from  the  pave- 

15 

do. 

5 

o 

o 

36 

i 

o 

ment  of  the  Piazza. 

16 

do. 

5 

o 

o 

4i 

i 

0 

T7 

do. 

5 

5 

o 

46 

6 

0 

18 

do. 

2 

i 

6 

48 

7 

6 

To  Post  &  Rail  Fence—  216  feet  from  the 

X9 

do. 

3 

7 

4 

52 

3 

2 

Piazza. 

20 

do. 

2 

6 

4 

54 

9 

6 

21 

do. 

2 

3 

6 

57 

i 

2 

22 

do. 

2 

ii 

4 

60 

o 

6 

23 

do. 

2 

3 

2 

62 

4 

o 

To    a   small   locust  —  276   feet   from   the 

24 

do. 

2 

3 

.     . 

64 

7 

Piazza. 

25 

do. 

2 

3 

2 

66 

IO 

2 

26 

do 

2 

67 

To  a  Bank  —  312  feet  from  the  Piazza. 

27 

do. 

4 

2 

I 

71 

2 

5 

28 

29 

do. 
do. 

2 
2 

5 

2 

73 

75 

7 

10 

5 

To  the  level  of  the  Spring  —  at  the  Dairy  — 
which  is  about  50  feet  above  high  water 

30 

do. 

2 

3 

I 

78 

i 

6 

mark- 

3i 

do. 

j 

6 

4 

79 

8 

2 

32 

do. 

2 

5 

82 

i 

7 

33 
34 

do. 
do. 

3 

3 

3 

5 
6 

83 
86 

7 
ii 

4 

2 

To  the  edge  of  the  above  Bank—  396  feet 
from  the  Piazza. 

35 

do. 

2 

o 

3 

88 

ii 

5 

36 

do. 

3 

3 

6 

92 

3 

3 

37 

do. 

3 

2 

0 

5 

3 

38 

do. 

3 

O 

4 

98 

5 

7 

39 

do. 

2 

4 

3 

IOO 

IO 

2 

40 

do. 

2 

o 

4 

1  02 

10 

6 

4i 

do. 

I 

5 

4 

104 

4 

2 

To  a  parcel  of  Briers—  492  feet  from  the 

42 

do. 

I 

2 

105 

6 

2 

Piazza. 

43 

do. 

I 

i 

106 

6 

3 

44 

do. 

I,ev 

el. 

106 

6 

3 

45 

do. 

. 

10 

107 

4 

3 

46 

do. 

i 

IO 

109 

2 

3 

47 

do. 

2 

5 

i 

in 

7 

4 

48 

do. 

2 

in 

9 

4 

49 

do. 

Q 

'  6 

112 

7 

50 
5i 

do. 
do. 

5 
7 

4 
6 

"3 
U3 

o 

8 

4 

2 

To  a  path  up  the  Riverside—  600  feet  from 
the  Piazza— 

52 

do. 

, 

9 

2 

114 

5 

4 

53 
54 

do. 
do. 

I 

I 

i 

4 

"5 
116 

6 

7 

To  the  edge  of  the  River  Bank—  648  ft 

H?|h 

do. 
Water. 

3 

4 

6 
9 

4 

120 

124 

i 

10 

4 
4 

from  the  Piazza— 
To  highwaterMark—  660  ft.from  the  Piazza 

Jg&=-The  distance  in  a  rectangular  line  from  the  level  of  the  pavement  of  the  Piazza,  to 
high  water  mark,  is  660  feet — or  220  yards — and  the  elevation  of  it  above  the  water 
is  124  t\  10%  Inches.— 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE  CONGRESS,  369 

day's  sport  and  lending  them  his  seine  to  haul  for  fish,  to  do 
with  their  catch  as  they  pleased,  to  sell  or  to  keep.4* 

''Monday  October  ^  1786  ********* 
Allowed  all  my  People  to  go  to  the  Races  in  Alexandria  on 
one  of  three  days  as  best  comported  with  their  respective 
businesses — leaving  careful  persons  on  the  plantations.  * ' 

Washington  had  faith  in  the  progress  of  the  human  race 
and  believed  in  making  earnest  efforts  to  improve  not  only 
man's  surroundings  and  conditions,  but  also  his  methods  of 
securing  a  livelihood,  as  well  as  the  institutions  and  govern- 
ment under  which  they  lived.  To  him  is  awarded  the  credit 
of  the  introducing  into  the  United  States  the  best  breeds  of 
that  very  useful  animal,  the  mule.  He  also  gave  much  atten- 
tion to  improving  the  breeds  of  sheep,  hogs,  horses,  cattle  and 
dogs.45  The  following  extracts  from  his  Journal  relate  to  his 
importation  of  improved  breeds  of  some  domestic  animals  for 
his  plantations. 

44  Washington,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  had  on  his  several  estates  317 
negroes,  a  list  of  which,  with  the  names,  ages,  and  sex,  he  had  made  a 
short  time  before.     A  literal  copy  of  this  memoranda  has  been  deposited 
in  the  "Toner  Collection"  in  the  Library  of  Congress.     He  owned  of 
these,  in  his  own  right,  124,  and  had  40  others  leased  from  Mrs.  French  ; 
while  153  were  dower  negroes,  that  is,  were  the  property  of  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington in  her  own  right  and  that  of  her  children  and  their  heirs.     Wash- 
ington in  his  will,  after  providing  for  the  payment  of  his  debts  and  for 
his  wife,  and  before  disposing  of  any  of  his  property,  directs  in   the 
following  language  the  emancipation  of  his  negroes :  "Item  Upon  the 
decease  of  my  wife,  it  is  my  will  and  desire,  that  all  the  slaves  which  I 
hold  in  iny  own  right  shall  receive  their  freedom." — Then  follows  ex- 
press provisions  for  the  care  of  the  old  who  were  past  work  and  the  chil- 
dren unable  to  make  a  living,  but  as  the  will  has  been  frequently  printed, 
it  can  be  consulted  by  all  desiring  to  do  so. 

45  Washington  was  but  little  given  to  collecting  about  him  a  museum 
of  things  which  were  simply  curious  and  without  the  merit  of  some  use. 
He  did,  however,  have  some  fancy  fowls  and  unprofitable  animals  which 
were  in  the  nature  of  the  decorative  and  to  entertain  visitors.     His  deer 
Paddock  and  hounds  he  doubtless  justified  on  the  principle  of  entertain- 
ment and  home  amusements.     His  cash  book  for  1785,  under  date  of 
March  I7th,  has  the  following  ;  "by  freight  of  a  swan  and  4  Geese  from 
Nom'y  i8X«"     And  his  cash  book  for  1788,  December   I3th,    has  this 
entry:  "By  Cap*   Baine  p'd  him  the  freight  of  two  Chinese  pigs  &  2 
Geese  from  Norfolk  to  this  place  7/4." 


370  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 

"  Thursday  Novr.    16^1786      *      ******** 

*  *  On  my  return  home,  found  Mons  Campoint  sent  by  the 
Marq?  de  la  Fayette  with  the  Jacks  and  two  she  Asses  which 
he  had  procured  for  me  in  the  Island  of  Malta,  and  which  had 
arrived  at  Baltimore  with  the  Chinese  Pheasants  &c  had  with 
my  Overseer  &c  got  there  before  me — these  Asses  are  in  good 
order  and  appear  to  be  very  fine — The  Jack  is  two  years  old 
and  the  She  Asses  one  three  &  the  other  two. — The  Pheasants 
and  Partridges  will  come  round  by  Water. 

"  Monday  2f*  Notf.  *********  *  * 
Received  my  Chinese  Pheasants  &c  from  Baltimore  by  the 
Packet  viz.— A  Cock  &  Hen  of  the  Golden  Eneas*  A  Cock  & 
Hen  of  the  silver  Pheas*  A  Cock  &  two  hens  of  the  French 
Pheas*  and  a  French  Partridge  the  other  French  Partridge 
died  coming  round  from  Baltim?  ' ' 

The  expedient  adopted  by  Washington  in  sowing  clover, 
timothy  and  other  small  seeds  broadcast  to  insure  an  even 
distribution  of  the  seed  over  the  ground,  was  to  mix  them  with 
dry  sand  or  ashes,  so  that  greater  bulk  might  be  taken  in  the 
hand  for  each  cast.  The  following  entry  appears  under  date  of 

' '  Monday,  Febr?  5^  1*787.  At  the  Ferry  the  Overseer  had 
begun  to  sow  timothy  seed  mixed  with  sand  in  the  Rye  field 
on  the  snow, — but  the  sand  being  too  wet  and  Clamy  to  do 
it  regular  I  ordered  him  to  desist  until  the  sand  could  be 
dried. — Three  gallons  of  Timothy  seed  mixed  with  ashes  was 
sown  on  Rye  in  the  Neck  on  Saturday. 

"April  Is.1  /7<?7  *****  *  in  the  evening  one 
Young  who  lives  on  Col?  Ball's  place — a  farmer,  came  here  to 
see,  he  says  my  drill  plow  &  staid  all  night. & 

46 The  Mount  Vernon  "Store  Room  Book"  of  this  date  shows  the 
following  entries  bearing  upon  the  making  of  Drill  Plows  ; 

"April  6th  1787  Gave  out  200  4d    &  100  8d  brads  to  Matthew  for  making  a  drill  Plow. 

"April  13,  1787,  "  Gave  out  a  piece  of  Copper  Sheating  to  Bradkin  for  the  Drill  plow 
also  50  4d  nails  to  Bradkin  50  tacks  and  100  4"  brass  Do  for  Drill  Plow." 

Tradition  credits  Washington  with  having  invented  and  patented  a 
plow.  I  have  not,  however,  found  any  testimony  to  sustain  the  claim. 
But  I  do  find  the  following  entry  in  one  of  the  "  Store  Books  of  issue  "  at 
Mount  Vernon  under  date  of  Sept  28th  1787.  "A  packing  box  for  a  plow 
model  one  hundred  and  fifty  nails  used  in  making  box."  Query  :  Was 
the  model  here  referred  to  one  of  Washington's  own  invention  and  being 
shipped  to  a  manufacturer  or  to  officials  granting  patents  ? 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  371 

"Saturday?!1  *******  jn  my  Botanical  gar- 
den in  the  section  immediately  adjoining  to  &  west  of  the  Salt 
House  I  sowed  first  3  rows  of  the  Kentucke  clover  15  inches 
apart — and  next  to  these  9  rows  of  the  Guinea  grass  in  rows  of 
the  same  distance  apart. 

"April  2ot.h  ******  In  the  Neck  the  gr?  being 
rather  hard  and  in  places  rough — two  harrows  could  not  pre- 
pare it  sufficiently  to  keep  the  drill  plow  constantly  at  work. 
I  therefore  ordered  the  plowman  who  attended  it  to  make  good 
the  work  of  covering  the  corn  which  the  little  harrow  at  the 
tail  of  it  might  leave  unfinished  and  this  he  is  well  able  to  do, 
because  where  the  ground  is  difficult  to  prepare  he  can  outgo 
the  harrows,  and  here  it  is  assistance  is  wanted  when  the 
ground  is  light  and  the  harrows  prepare  it  sufficiently  there  is 
no  occasion  of  the  hoe  to  follow — this  supercedes  the  necessity 
of  the  special  hand  ordered  for  this  service  on  Wednesday 
last. — Where  the  gr?  is  naturally  light,  or  well  pulverized  the 
drill  plow  plants  with  great  dispatch  regularity  and  to  good 
effect  where  it  is  rough  and  hard  manual  labour  as  in  the 
common  mode  must  be  applied." 

The  spirit  of  enquiry  and  desire  for  exact  knowledge  remained 
an  active  element  in  Washington's  character  to  the  close  of  his 
life,47  but  it  is  nevertheless  wonderful  that  as  late  as  1788  he 

47  While  George  Washington  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses, 
a  petition  of  Mr.  Aaron  Miller  addressed  to  the  Governor  and  Council 
was  referred  to  the  House,  "setting  forth  that  he  had  at  great  trouble  and 
expense  invented  a  new  compass  and  protractor,  by  which  an  angle  may 
be  measured  both  in  surveying  and  platting  with  greater  Accuracy  than 
by  any  other  instrument  hitherto  discovered  and  praying  such  Bounty  as 
the  Legislature  may  think  he  deserves  and  the  said  petition  was  read. 
Ordered  that  the  said  Petition  be  referred  to  the  consideration  of  Mr. 
Richard  Bland,  Mr.  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Mr.  Wythe,  Mr.  Carey  and  Mr. 
Mercer ;  that  they  examine  into  the  allegations  thereof,  and  report  the 
same  with  their  opinion  thereon,  to  the  House. ' '  {Journal  House  of 
Burgesses,  Decb*  &h,  1764)  "Mr.  Richard  Henry  Lee  from  the  Committee 
to  whom  was  referred  the  Petition  of  Aaron  Miller,  reported  that 
they  had  examined  the  Instruments  mentioned  in  the  said  petition 
and  were  of  opinion  that  surveys  of  Land  may  be  made  and  plotted  with 
them  with  greater  accuracy  than  any  instruments  of  the  kind  they  had 
ever  seen  or  heard  of  ******  Resolved,  that  the  said  Aaron 
Miller  ought  to  be  allowed  the  sum  of  ^30.  as  a  consideration  for  his 
useful  invention."  {Journal  House  of  Burgesses,  December  15^,  1764.} 


372  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

should  take  the  pains  to  count  the  actual  number  of  peas  and 
beans  there  were  in  a  pint  measure  of  six  varieties  of  them, 
that  he  might  know  the  quantity  of  ground  to  prepare  and  the 
number  of  hills  a  bushel  of  each  would  plant,  as  will  be  noticed 
from  the  following  taken  from  his  Diaries  : — 

1  'Monday  May  12^  1788  *  *  At  home  all  day  .—Counted 
the  number  of  the  following  articles  which  are  contained  in  a 
pint — viz. — of  The  small  &  round  pease  commonly  called  Gen- 
tlemans  Pease  3,144.  Those  bro*  from  York  RivT  by  MajT  G. 
Washington  2,268.  Those  bro*  by  D?  from  M.r.s  Dangerfields 
T>375-  Those  given  by  Hezh  Fairfax  1,330.  Large  and  early 
black  eye  Pease  1,186.  Bunch  hominy  Beans  1,473.  Accord- 
ingly— a  bushel  of  the  above,  allowing  5  to  a  hill  will  plant 
the  number  of  hills  wc^  follow. — viz 

"  i*<  kind  40243 

2     Ditto  29030 

3 — Ditto  17200 

4 — Ditto  17024 

5.  Ditto  15180 

6.  Ditto  18854  " 

Another  inventor  was  rewarded  by  Virginia  while  Washington  was  a 
member  of  the  Assembly  for  an  improvement  in  the  threshing  machine. 
John  Hobday  of  Gloucester  county,  Va.,  in  1774  by  petition  brought  to 
the  attention  of  the  House  the  fact  that  "he  had  invented  a  Machine  for 
getting  Wheat  out  of  the  Bar  clean  and  neat  and  with  more  expedition 
than  could  be  done  by  thrashing,  or  treading  with  cattle,  and  that  with- 
out loss  of  the  chaff,  or  detriment  to  the  straw  ;  and  submitting  it  to  the 
Liberality  and  Wisdom  of  the  House  to  reward  his  endeavors  to  serve 
the  community,  in  such  manner  as  they  may  think  proper.  Resolved 
that  the  said  Petition  be  referred  to  the  consideration  of  the  Committee 
of  Trade  ;  and  that  they  do  examine  the  matter  thereof  and  report  the 
same,  with  their  opinion  thereupon  to  the  House."  (Journal  of  House 
of  Burgesses,  May  igth,  1774.}  May  2oth,  1774,  Mr.  [Benjamin]  Harrison 
reported  from  the  Committee  of  Trade,  to  whom  the  petition  of  John 
Hobday,  praying  to  be  allowed  a  reward  for  inventing  a  machine  whereby 
wheat  is  got  out  neat  and  clean,  &c.  **•**•***•* 

"  Resolved  that  it  is  the  Opinion  of  this  Committee  that  the  petition  is  reasonable  and 
that  the  said  John  Hobday  ought  to  be  allowed  by  the  Public  the  sum  of  three  hundred 
pounds  as  a  reward  for  inventing  the  said  Machine,  and  communicating  to  the  Public  the 
manner  of  erecting  it." 

The  resolution  was  amended  by  inserting  one  hundred  instead  of  three 
hundred,  and  it  passed  in  the  affirmative.  Washington  was  a  competent 
judge  of  the  utility  of  both  these  inventions. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  373 

He  also  counted  the  number  of  clover,  timothy  and  Saint 
Foin  seed  there  was  in  a  pint  that  he  might  estimate  the  quan- 
tity to  sow  upon  an  acre. 

During  the  session  of  the  Convention  that  drafted  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  Washington  kept  a  brief  journal 
of  events,  but  records  nothing  regarding  the  questions  discussed 
in  the  sessions;  thus  evincing  scrupulous  adherence  to  his  pledge 
of  secrecy.  The  entries  show,  however,  that  he  visited  numer- 
ous institutions  of  learning,  Bartram's  botanical  gardens,  and 
the  most  noted  farms  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia.  His  most 
lengthy  notes,  however,  relate  to  agriculture,  in  which  he  never 
lost  interest.*8  However,  on  Monday,  3d  of  September,  1787, 
his  Diary  has  the  following  entry  relating  to  a  new  machine: — 
' '  Visited  a  Machine  at  Doctr  Franklins  (called  a  Mangle)  for 
pressing,  in  place  of  Ironing,  clothes  from  the  wash — Which 
Machine  from  the  facility  with  which  it  dispatches  business  is 
well  calculated  for  Table  cloths  &  such  articles  as  have  not 
pleats  &  irregular  foldings  and  would  be  very  useful  in  all  large 
families. ' ' 

It  is  probable  that  the  activities  of  Washington's  inventive 
genius  found  its  favorite  employment  in  the  direction  of  labor- 
saving  implements  which  ensured  increased  domestic  comforts 
to  the  people.  Yet  his  great  catholic  heart  and  enlightened 
humane  sympathies  led  him  to  welcome  and  encourage  every 

48  Washington  in  a  letter  to  Landon  Carter,  "of  Cleve,"  written  at 
Mount  Vernon  17  October,  1796,  uses  the  following  language  : 

"  It  is  true  (ag  you  have  heard)  that  to  be  a  cultivator  of  Land  has  been  my  favorite 
amusement ;— but  it  is  equally  true  that  I  have  made  very  little  proficiency  in  acquir- 
ing knowledge  either  in  the  principals  or  practice  of  Husbandry.  My  employments 
through  life,  have  been  so  diversified— my  absences  from  home  have  been  so  frequent, 
and  so  long  at  a  time,  as  to  have  prevented  me  from  bestowing  the  attention,  and  from 
making  the  experiments  which  are  necessary  to  establish  facts  in  the  Science  of  Agri- 
culture.—And  now,  though  I  mav  amuse  myself  in  that  way  for  the  short  time  I  may 
remain  on  this  theatre,  it  is  too  late  in  the  day  for  me  to  commence  a  scientific  course 
of  experiments.  Your  thoughts  on  the  mode  of  cultivating  Indian  corn,  appear  to  me, 
to  be  founded  in  reason,— and  a  judicious  management  of  the  Soil  for  different  pur- 
poses, is  as  highly  interesting  too,  as  it  has  been  neglected  by  the  People  of  this 
country.  ***** 

"  I  shall  always  feel  myself  obliged  by  your  communicating  any  useful  discovery  in 
Agriculture ;  and  for  the  favorable  Sentiments  you  have  been  pleased  to  express  for 
me,  I  pray  you  to  accept  the  thanks  of 

"Sir 

"  Your  most  obed*-    and  very  H^e  scrvn 
"  G°  WASHINGTON." 


374  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE   CONGRESS. 

measure  which  gave  promise  of  lessening  the  heavy  load  resting 
upon  the  shoulders  of  the  poor  and  the  overworked  and  poorly- 
paid  tillers  of  the  soil.  Intimately  blended  with  his  genius 
for  leadership  and  for  improving  man's  condition,  was  his 
taste  and  respect  for  the  esthetics  to  be  observed  in  every-day 
life  which  he  believed  not  only  improved  habits  but  elevated 
character.  This  at  times  may  have  led  some  to  consider  him 
as  reserved  and  overfond  of  ceremony.  This  was  not  the  fact. 
But  to  a  mind  like  his,  attuned  to  exact  justice,  individual  rights 
and  the  orderly  observance  of  the  proprieties  of  social  life  were 
sacred. 

To  President  Washington  we  are  indebted  for  the  graceful 
and  convenient  device  of  the  dinner  wine  coaster.  The  history 
of  its  invention  and  first  introduction  may  be  found  in  a  foot- 
note. 49  The  harvest  horse-rake  for  gleaning  meadows  and  also 

49  Mr.  Bossing  in  his  admirable  book  on  "  Mount  Vernon  and  its  Asso- 
ciations," page  263,  gives  in  substance  the  following  history  of  this  inven- 
tion. The  President  on  the  removal  of  Congress  from  New  York  to 
Philadelphia  furnished  his  residence  in  a  manner  to  make  it  comfortable 
to  the  close  of  his  term  of  office,  and  to  do  this  added  much  new  furni- 
ture and  household  belongings.  In  his  efforts  in  this  direction  he  ordered 
a  bill  of  goods  through  Gouverneur  Morris,  who  was  then  in  Paris.  In 
this  order  was  some  silver-plated  wine  coolers,  an  article  that  he  had 
never  used  at  Mount  Vernon.  The  invoice  had  reached  him  in  Virginia. 
In  a  letter  to  his  secretary,  Mr.  Lear,  Washington  wrote,  I  quote  from 
Mr.  Lossing : 

"  Enclosed  I  send  you  a  letter  from  Mr.  Gouverneur  Morris,  with  a  bill  of  the  cost  of 
the  articles  he  was  to  send  me.  The  prices  of  the  plated  ware  exceed— far  exceed— the 
utmost  bounds  of  my  calculation  ;  but  as  I  am  persuaded  he  has  done  what  he  conceived 
right,  I  am  satisfied,  and  request  you  to  make  immediate  payment  to  Mr.  Constable  if  you 
can  raise  the  means.  As  the  coolers  are  designed  for  warm  weather,  and  will  be,  I  pre- 
sume, useless  in  cold,  or  in  that  in  which  the  liquors  do  not  require  cooling,  querie,  would 
not  a  stand  like  that  for  castors,  with  four  apertures  for  so  many  different  kinds  of  liquors, 
each  aperture  just  sufficient  to  hold  one  of  the  cut  decanters  sent  by  Mr.  Morris,  be  more 
convenient  for  passing  the  bottles  from  one  to  another,  than  the  handing  each  bottle  seper- 
ately,  by  which  it  often  happens  that  one  bottle  moves,  another  stops,  and  all  are  in  con- 
fusion ?  Two  of  them— one  for  each  end  of  the  table,  with  a  flat  bottom,  with  or  without 
feet,  open  at  the  sides,  but  with  a  raised  rim,  as  caster-stands  have,  and  an  upright,  by 
way  of  handle,  in  the  middle— could  not  cost  a  great  deal,  even  if  made  wholly  of  silver. 
Talk  to  a  silversmith,  and  ascertain  the  cost,  and  whether  they  could  be  immediately 
made  if  required,  in  a  handsome  fashion. 

"  Perhaps  the  coolers  sent  by  Mr.  Morris  may  afford  ideas  of  taste ;  perhaps,  too  (if  they 
prove  not  too  heavy,  when  examined)  they  may  supersede  the  necessity  of  such  as  I  have 
described,  by  answering  the  purpose  themselves.  Four  double  flint  bottles  (such  as  I  sus- 
pect Mr.  Morris  has  sent),  will  weigh,  I  conjecture,  four  pounds  ;  the  wine  in  them  when 
they  are  filled  will  be  eight  pounds  more,  which,  added  to  the  weight  of  the  coolers,  will 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  375 

grain  fields  after  the  grain  had  been  cut  and  gathered  came  into 
use  about  the  time  General  Washington  was  President.  He 
ordered  two  for  his  Mount  Vernon  farms.  (See  letter  to  C. 
Diddle.)  And  in  1797  he  had  a  thrashing-machine  erected  at 
Mount  Vernon.  (See  cash  book.) 

Under  date  of  August  2<i,  1788,  we  find  the  following: — "  Vis- 
ited all  the  Plantations — At  the  Ferry — six  plows  were  turning 
in  B  [uck]  Wheat  Three  of  them  from  Frenches — Tried  the 
Patent  Plow  sent  me  by  Major  Snowden  whch  run  easy  and  did 
good  work." 

It  would  seem  from  this  that  there  were  plows  patented  and 
in  use  in  Virginia  before  the  assembling  of  the  First  Congress 
under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  This  paragraph 
bears  testimony  also  to  the  fact  that  Washington  was  known 
to  merchants  and  progressive  farmers  as  being  ready  and 
anxious  to  test  new  and  improved  implements  of  husbandry  ; 
hence,  no  diplomacy  was  necessary  to  bring  to  his  attention  a 
new  patent  plow.50 

' '  Sunday  November  2*  1788.  M?  George  Mason  came  here 
to  dinner  and  returned  in  the  Evening — After  dinner  word  was 
bro*  from  Alexandria  that  the  Minister  of  France  was  arrived 
there  and  intended  down  here  to  dinner — Accordingly,  a  little 
before  Sun  setting,  he  (the  Count  de  Moustiers)  his  Sister  the 

I  fear,  make  these  latter  too  unwieldy  to  pass,  especially  by  ladies  which  induces  me  to 
think  of  the  frame  in  the  form  of  casters." 

After  quoting  the  President's  letter  descriptive  of  the  device,  Mr.  Los- 
sing  adds  the  following ; 

"  Mr.  Lear  was  pleased  with  Washington's  suggestions  and  ordered  a  silversmith  to 
make  two  of  the  caster-like  frames  of  solid  silver,  and  these  were  used  upon  the  President's 
table  on  the  occasion  of  the  first  dinner  which  he  gave  to  the  officers  of  the  government 
and  their  families,  foreign  ministers  and  their  families  and  other  distinguished  guests. 
Their  lightness  and  convenience  commended  them,  and  from  that  time  they  became  fash- 
ionable, under  the  appropriate  title  of  coasters.  Thenceforth  the  wine-cooler  was  left 
upon  the  sideboard  and  the  coaster  alone  was  used  for  sending  the  wine  around  the  table. 
For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  afterward  the  coaster  might  be  seen  upon  the  table 
of  every  fashionable  family  in  Philadelphia.  Few  persons,  however,  are  aware  that 
Washington  was  the  inventor  of  it.  A  roller  was  placed  under  the  center  of  each  basket 
by  which  the  coaster  is  more  easily  sent  around  the  table." 

An  engraving  showing  a  specimen  of  each  of  the  wine  coolers  and  the 
coaster  may  be  seen  in  the  work  of  Lossing  referred  to. 

5°  Prior  to  the  Federal  union  under  the  Constitution,  patents  were 
granted  by  the  Assemblies  of  the  several  Colonies,  as  well  as  by  Par- 
liament. 


376  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

Marchioness  de  Breton^1 — the   Marquis   her  Son   and   MT  du 
Fonts  came  in. 

1 '  Monday  3?  Thermometer  at  50  in  the  Morning — 70  at 
Noon — and  70  at  Night. — A  thick  fog  until  8  or  9  o'clock — 
Clear,  Calm  &  exceedingly  pleasant  afterwards.— 

"Remained  at  home  all  day. — Col?  Fitzgerald  &  DoctT 
Craik  came  down  to  dinner — &  with  the  copy  of  an  address 
(which  the  Citizens  of  Alexandria  meant  to  present  to  the 
Minister)  waited  on  him  to  know  when  he  would  receive  it. 

' '  Mr.  Lear  went  to  Alexandria  to  invite  some  of  the  Gentle- 
men and  Ladies  of  the  Town  to  dine  with  the  Count  & 
Marchioness  here  tomorrow. 

"  Tuesday — the—fourth.  Thermometer  at,  58  in  the  Morn- 
ing— 75  at  Noon — and  72  at  Night. — Morning  clear,  calm  and 
very  pleasant. — as  the  weather  continued  to  be  thro'  the  day. 

"  MT  Herbert  &  his  Lady,  MT  Potts  &  his  Lady,  MT  Lud- 
well  Lee  &  his  Lady,  and  Miss  Nancy  Craik  came  here  to 
dinner  and  returned  afterwards. 

"  Wednesday  ^.k  Thermometer  63  in  the  morning — 75  at 
Noon  and  73  at  Night,  very  clear,  calm,  warm  and  pleasant  all 
day. 

* '  The  Minister  &  Madam  de  Bretan  expressing  a  desire  to 
walk  to  the  new  Barn — we  accordingly  did  so — and  from  thence 
through  Frenches  Plantation  to  my  Mill  and  from  thence  home 
compleating  a  tour  of  at  least  seven  miles. — Previous  to  this, 
in  the  morning  before  breakfast  I  rid  to  the  Ferry,  Frenches 
D[ogue]  Run  and  Muddy  hole  Plantations. 

' '  At  the  Ferry  some  of  the  People  were  clearing  up  the  Rye 
which  had  been  tread  out  the  day  before,  others  were  digging 
Potatoes — the  Plows  were  at  work  in  No.  5.— 

51  Marchioness  de  Brienne  was  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  America,  a 
writer  of  spirit  and  an  amateur  artist  of  considerable  skill.  While  at 
Mount  Vernon  she  painted  a  miniature  of  the  General  from  life  which  she 
presented  to  Mrs.  Washington,  making  a  duplicate  for  herself.  (See 
Portraits  of  Washington  by  Miss  E.  B.Johnston.}  The  General  in  his 
Diary  of  October  3^,  1790,  says  :  "  Walked  in  the  afternoon  and  sat  about 
two  Oclock  for  Madam  Brehan  [Brienne]  to  complete  a  miniature  profile 
of  me  which  she  had  begun  from  memory  and  which  she  had  made  ex- 
ceedingly like  the  original." 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  CONGRESS.  377 

* '  At  Frenches  the  People  were  preparing  the  yard  to  tread 
out  Oats  which  had  remained  in  Shocks  at  the  yard. — At 
Dogue  Run — some  hands  were  Clearing  up  Rye,  and  prepar- 
ing to  lay  down  a  bed  of  Wh*  — and  others  digging  Cellar  to 
store  Irish  Potatoes  in. — The  Plows  yesterday  &  this  day  being 
stopped  to  tread  out  grain. — At  Dogue  Run — The  people  were 
Raising  Mud  for  Manure — the  Rye  would  be  all  in  and 
covered  to  day — 

' '  Thursday  6th  Thermometer  63  in  the  morning — 73  at  Noon 
and  72  at  Night.  Clear  calm,  warm,  and  exceedingly  pleasant. 

' '  About  Nine  Oclock  the  Minister  of  France,  the  Marchion- 
ess de  Bretan  and  their  suit  left  this  on  their  return  for  New 
York.  I  accompanied  them  as  far  as  Alexandria  &  returned 
home  to  dinner, — the  minister  proceeded  to  Georgetown  after 
having  received  an  Address  from  the  Citizens  of  the  Corpora- 
tion. 

' '  In  the  afternoon  M?  Ferdinand  Fairfax  came  in  and  stayed 
all  Night." 

In  his  Diary  January  22d,  1790,  will  be  found  the  following 
entry  :  ' '  Called  in  my  ride  on  the  Baron  de  Poelnitz  to  see  the 
operation  of  his  (Winlow's)  thrashing  machine.  The  effect 
was  the  heads  of  the  wheat  being  seperated  from  the  straw,  as 
much  of  the  first  was  run  through  the  mill  in  15  minutes  as 
made  half  a  bushel  of  clean  wheat.  Allowing  working  hours 
in  the  24,  this  would  yield  16  bushels  per  day.  Two  boys  are 
sufficient  to  turn  the  wheel,  feed  feed  the  mill  and  remove  the 
thrashed  grain  after  it  has  passed  through  it.  Two  men  were 
unable  by  winnowing,  to  clear  the  wheat  as  it  passed  through 
the  mill,  but  a  common  Dutch  fan,  with  the  usual  attendance 
would  be  more  than  sufficient  to  do  it.  The  grain  passed 
through  without  bruising  and  is  well  seperated  from  the  chaff. 
Women  and  boys  of  12  and  14  years  of  age  are  fully  adaquate 
to  the  management  of  the  mill  or  thrashing  machine." 

From  intimations  in  letters  and  other  parts  of  the  journal  it 
is  almost  certain  the  President  sent  one  of  these  thrashers  to 
his  Mount  Vernon  Plantations. 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  examples  of  General  Wash- 
ington's hospitality  to  distinguished  visitors  as  well  as  experi- 
ments to  promote  agriculture  and  to  devise  better  methods  and 


378  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 

implements  than  were  then  in  use  in  agriculture  and  the  domes- 
tic arts,  but  I  have  exhausted  the  time  at  my  disposal  and,  I  fear, 
your  patience  ;  besides  which  I  think  enough  evidence  has  been 
adduced  to  make  it  apparent  that  the  mind  of  Washington  was 
pre-eminently  efficient  in  devising  expedients  and  all  the 
essential  machinery  to  accomplish  in  the  shortest  time  and  in 
the  best  manner,  his  purposes  whether  in  the  management  of  a 
farm,  the  command  of  an  army,  or  the  inauguration  of  a  new 
form  of  Government  and  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  a 
nation. 

The  parentage,  the  disciplined  mind,  the  associations  and 
the  pursuits  of  Washington,  from  his  cradle  to  his  grave,  were 
all  so  admirable  as  to  fully  satisfy  the  most  exacting  require- 
ments of  the  highest  standard  of  excellence  in  human 
character  ;  and  each  gives  assurance  that  he  was  pre-eminently 
deserving  of  the  admiration  of  mankind  above  that  of  any 
mortal  who  has  ever  lived. 52  Each,  act  of  his  eventful  life, 
the  purer  grows  as  studied,  freed  from  the  passions  of  the  times 
in  which  he  lived.  Is  it  not  lamentable,  then,  and  to  be  deeply 
regretted  that  the  name  of  George  Washington,  the  central 
figure  in  all  history,  is  not  held  as  too  sacred  to  be  mentioned 
except  with  reverential  praise  ?  He  should,  at  least,  be  exempt 
from  coarse  and  inconsiderate  gibes  and  pert,  unsavory 
inuendoes  having  no  foundation  except  in  the  depraved 
imagination  of  the  vulgar,  incapable  of  appreciating  the 
virtues  they  profane.53 

52  A  delicate  and  appreciative  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  Wash- 
ington is  "  the  tolling  of  the  bell "  by  all  vessels  passing  Mount  Vernou. 
This  special  manifestation  of  regard,  I  learn,  originated  with  a  French 
merchant  vessel  passing  just  after  General  Washington's  death  and  before 
the  interment  of  his  remains.     The  barque  placed  its  colors  at  half-mast 
and  tolled  its  bell  while  passing  the  home  of  Washington,  then  a  house  of 
mourning.     This  unique  but  impressive  testimony  of  respect  seemed  to 
all  sea-faring  men  so  appropriate  that  it  was  at  once  taken  up  by  crafts 
of  every  character  on   the  Potomac,  and  has  been   continued,  without 
abatement,  to  this  day. 

53  The  Hon.  George  Bancroft,  our  most  eminent  student  of  American  his- 
tory, has  left  us  a  comprehensive  and  just  analysis  of  the  character  of  the 
Father  of  our  Republic,  based  upon  a  study  of  his  life  and  times,  such  as 
but  few  writers  are  capable  of  giving  to  the  subject.     He  says  : 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  CONGRESS.  379 

Mount  Vernon  must  ever  have  a  peculiar  fascination  to  the 
lovers  of  civil  liberty,  to  all  who  admire  genius  and  have  faith 
in  human  progress.  To  climb  its  hills,  traverse  its  walks  and 
pass  the  portals  which  sheltered  the  man  who  amplified  and 
fashioned  this  Mansion,  planned  its  gardens,  fields  and  lawns 
and  embellished  all  with  choicest  trees  and  flowering  shrubs, 
seems  now  and  ever  will  in  some  mysterious  way  to  bring  the 
appreciative  visitor  near  the  great  Washington.  For  it  was  here 
the  youthful  surveyor,  the  courageous  explorer,  the  commander 
of  armies,  the  presiding  officer  of  conventions  and  the  first 
President  of  the  United  States,  pursued  his  favorite  employ- 
ment of  cultivating  the  soil.  Here,  the  purest  patriot  of 
all  the  ages  occupied  his  splendid  talents  and  kept  his  heart 
in  sympathy  with  the  latest  improvements  in  everything  which 
tended  to  advance  the  happiness  of  the  people  and  his  country. 
Here  lived  and  labored  the  most  felicitous  letter-writer  in 
history,  the  greatest  exponent  of  liberty  guided  by  law,  the 
defender  of  the  inalienable  rights  of  man,  the  possessor  of  all 
the  virtues.  The  vitality  of  the  Pater  Patrice  seems  sentient 
and  perpetual  here — the  patriot's  Mecca — once  the  home,  now 
the  tomb  of  the  Immortal  Washington! 

"  The  character  of  Washington's  greatness  maybe  described,  in  its  unity,  as  the 
highest  wisdom  of  common  sense  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  largest  endowment  of  the  power 
that  constitutes  the  highest  part  of  the  nature  of  man  ;  or,  it  may  be  described  as  in 
action  the  perfection  of  reflective  judgment.  That  common  sense  or  reflective  judg- 
ment, was  combined  with  creative  and  executive  capacity.  If  he  spoke,  or  if  he  wrote, 
he  came  directly  to  the  point  on  which  the  matter  in  discussion  depended  ;  and  pro- 
nounced his  thoughts  in  clear,  strong  and  concise  words  ;  if  he  was  to  act  he  suited  his 
means,  be  they  scanty  or  sufficient  in  the  best  way  to  his  end.  When  America  assem- 
bled its  best  men  in  a  first  Congress,  Patrick  Henry  said :  '  For  sound  judgment 
Colonel  Washington  is  unquestionably  the  greatest  man  on  the  floor.' " 

The  following  appreciative  estimate  of  Washington's  character  is  from 
the  pen  of  that  astute  French  statesman,  Talleyrand  : 

' '  History  affords  few  examples  of  such  renown.  Great  from  the  outset  of  his  career, 
patriotic  before  his  country  became  a  nation,  despite  the  passions  and  political  resent- 
ments that  desired  to  check  his  career,  his  fame  remained  imperishable.  His  public 
actions,  and  unassuming  grandeur  in  private  life  were  living  examples  of  courage, 
wisdom  and  usefulness." 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  381 


THE  EFFECT  OF  OUR  PATENT  SYSTEM  ON  THE 
MATERIAL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES. 

BY  HON.  BENJAMIN  BUTTERWORTH,  OF  OHIO,  U.  S.  HOUSE  OF 
REPRESENTATIVES. 

In  defining  the  powers  conferred  upon  Congress,  Section 
Eight  of  Article  One  of  the  Constitution  contains,  among 
others,  the  following  Clause  ' '  To  promote  the  progress  of 
science  and  useful  arts  by  securing  for  limited  times  to  authors 
and  inventors  the  exclusive  right  to  their  respective  writings 
and  discoveries." 

In  the  execution  of  the  power  conferred,  Congress  devised 
our  present  Patent  System,  not  in  a  single  Act,  but  by  such 
legislation  from  time  to  time  as  experience  suggested.  The 
law  is  a  growth,  and  our  present  laws  are  the  result  of  pro- 
gressive development.  Has  the  action  of  our  fathers  in  mak- 
ing provision  in  the  Constitution  for  encouraging  inventors  and 
authors  been  approved  by  results  deducible  therefrom  ?  Has 
the  influence  of  our  Patent  System  upon  the  prosperity  of  the 
nation  justified  its  adoption  ?  I  answer  these  questions  in  the 
affirmative,  and  call  attention  to  the  evidence  that  no  other 
answer  can  properly  be  given. 

Our  fathers  builded  even  better  than  they  knew.  I  do  not 
know  what  they  hoped  for  or  anticipated  as  possible  under  the 
System,  the  foundation  of  which  they  laid  in  the  Constitution, 
but  this  we  may  believe,  that  neither  the  most  profound  thinker 
nor  the  wildest  dreamer  could  have  anticipated  such  marvelous 
changes  and  improvements  as  have  been  wrought  out  under 
our  Patent  System. 

Mr  Chairman,  if  some  member  of  the  immortal  Convention 
that  framed  our  Constitution,  endowed  with  the  gift  of  prophecy, 
had  arisen  in  his  place,  and  in  plain  speech  disclosed  what 
their  children  would  behold  at  the  close  of  the  first  century  as 
a  result  of  the  power  conferred  upon  Congress  in  the  clause  I 


382  PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

have  read,  his  associates  would  at  once  have  felt  an  anxious 
concern  in  regard  to  his  mental  health,  or  else  have  suspected 
that  the  spirit  of  Baron  Miinchausen  was  upon  him.  And  if 
in  candor  he  had  persisted  in  his  predictions,  his  seemingly 
obvious  mental  halucinations  would  have  invalidated  any  will 
he  might  have  written  while  his  intellect  continued  thus  dis- 
turbed. 

If  Benjamin  Franklin,  sage  and  philosopher  as  he  was,  were 
to  come  back  to  the  earth  with  only  such  scientific  knowledge 
as  he  possessed  on  the  date  of  his  death,  he  would  not  be  able 
to  pass  a  civil  service  examination  for  appointment  as  a  Fourth 
Assistant  Examiner  in  the  electrical  division  of  the  Patent 
Office. 

I  need  not  go  to  those  who  walked  the  earth  an  hundred 
years  ago  to  find  unbelievers  touching  the  possibilities  that 
waited  upon  the  progressive  and  aggressive  spirit  of  the  last 
fifty  years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  as  it  finds  expression  in 
the  development  of  the  industrial  arts  and  applied  sciences. 
The  wise  men  in  Congress  fifty  years  ago  found  pleasure  in 
ridiculing  and  laughing  at  the  "crank,"  Morse,  who  hung 
about  the  lobby  of  the  House,  insisting  that  he  could  use  the 
lightning  to  transmit  messages.  And  to-day,  ninety  per  cent, 
of  the  people  of  the  United  States  would  not  credit  the  truth 
of  a  plain  recital  of  actual  facts  concerning  the  progress  we 
have  made  in  the  field  of  human  activity  I  have  mentioned. 
Even  the  individual  who  has  struggled  to  keep  posted,  at  least 
as  to  the  rate  of  progress  made,  would  be  startled  at  the  exhibit 
of  what  has  been  accomplished  along  the  line  of  evolution 
during  the  last  five  decades. 

Until  recently,  the  Patent  Office  was  regarded  by  the  mass 
of  people  as  a  clearing  house  for  cranks.  Inventors  and  auth- 
ors, especially  poets,  were  looked  upon  as  a  class  of  long- 
haired, dreamy-eyed  persons  suffering  in  a  greater  or  less  de- 
gree from  some  mental  obliquity,  and  the  Patent  Office  was 
supposed  to  contain  the  materialized  evidence  of  mental  con- 
tortion. How  little  the  world  realized  that  to  these  cranks  it 
is  in  large  measure  indebted  for  its  progress.  They  were  the 
avant  couriers  of  a  higher  and  better  civilization.  As  the  result 
of  their  labor,  old  things  have  passed  away  and  all  things  be- 


PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE  CONGRESS.  383 

come  new.  We  have  a  new  earth,  or  at  least  it  can  be  truly  said 
that  the  old  earth  has  put  on  new  conditions,  such  as  to  create 
wonder  even  among  the  most  learned. 

The  wisdom  of  giving  to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive 
right  for  a  limited  time  to  their  writings  and  discoveries  has  been 
frequently  questioned  by  able  men,  and  even  as  late  as  during 
the  last  Congress  one  of  its  oldest  and  wisest  members 
asserted  that  our  present  unequalled  and  unexampled  pros- 
perity in  the  arts  and  sciences  would  not  have  been  lessened 
by  the  absence  of  the  Patent  System,  asserting  also  that  such 
encouragement  to  authors  and  inventors  is  wholly  unnecessary 
and  cannot  be  justified. 

It  is  urged  also,  that  the  influence  of  the  System  has  been 
to  build  up  monopolies  and  to  impose  needless  burdens  upon 
the  people.  I  desire  to  take  a  few  moments  of  your  time  to 
answer  these  criticisms,  and  in  doing  so,  to  call  the  attention 
of  this  Congress  to  what  has  been  accomplished  under  the  in- 
spiration and  encouragement  afforded  by  our  Patent  System. 

Our  fathers  aflirmed,  and  all  experience  confirms  the  cor- 
rectness of  their  conclusion,  that  no  individual  would  devote 
weeks,  months  and  years,  and  possibly  decades,  to  patient 
study,  investigation  and  experiment  for  the  mere  purpose  of 
lightening  his  own  labor  or  securing  better  results  merely  from 
his  individual  efforts.  Obviously  not  even  a  crank,  mad  with  the 
love  of  invention,  would  struggle  through  the  years  to  invent 
a  steam  engine,  a  sewing  machine,  a  telegraph,  a  telephone, 
or  a  reaper  and  mower,  solely  for  his  personal  use.  It  was 
essential  that  there  be  reserved  to  the  inventor  or  author  for  a 
time  such  exclusive  ownership  in  the  thing  invented,  discov- 
ered or  written,  as  would  enable  him  to  derive  pecuniary  profit 
from  its  manufacture,  use,  publication  and  sale. 

It  would  seem  clear  that  there  would  be  no  inducement  to  in- 
vent or  construct  a  harvester  or  mower  merely  to  reap  one's  own 
field.  No  one  would  invent  a  sewing  machine  for  the  purpose 
of  doing  the  family  sewing.  And  it  is  equally  clear  that  there 
would  be  very  few  inventions  if  others  have  the  equal  right, 
without  the  permission  of  the  inventor  and  discoverer,  to  man- 
ufacture, use  and  sell  the  thing  invented  or  discovered.  Few 
books  would  be  written  unless  there  was  in  the  author  for 


384  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

some  period  an  exclusive  ownership  of  the  work.  In  every 
walk  and  avenue  of  life  there  must  be  the  hope  of  gain  or  other 
positive  advantage  to  induce  men  to  labor. 

The  framers  of  the  Constitution,  therefore,  wisely  conferred 
upon  Congress  the  power  to  secure  to  authors  and  inventors 
for  a  limited  period,  an  'exclusive  right  to  their  respective 
writings  and  discoveries,  the  compensation  in  each  case  being 
contingent  upon  the  advantage  or  pleasure  the  public  derived 
in  substituting  the  new  device  or  machine  for  the  old,  or  in 
perusing  the  works  from  the  pen  or  inspiration  of  the  author. 
The  consideration  to  the  public  is  found  in  the  advantage, 
pleasure  or  profit  derived  by  the  community  from  the  discovery 
or  writing.  The  steam  engine,  the  cotton  gin,  the  printing 
press,  the  machinery  for  spinning,  each  paid  to  the  world  ten 
thousand-fold,  yes  a  million-fold,  more  than  the  inventors  re- 
ceived as  a  reward  for  their  labor.  The  community  have  no 
right  to  take  the  result  of  my  labor  without  compensation. 
Whitney's  cotton  gin  contributed  more  for  the  convenience 
and  comfort  of  mankind  than  was  derived  from  the  aggregated 
labor  of  every  workman  in  his  State  in  five  years.  The  idea 
that  this  work  of  Whitney's  should  be  confiscated  to  the  use 
of  the  public  without  suitable  reward  to  him,  smacks  of  grand 
larceny. 

The  difference  between  civilization  and  barbarism  is  not  more 
marked  in  anything  than  in  the  means  of  communicating 
thought,  and  in  the  character  of  the  instrumentalities  and 
agencies  provided  for  utilizing  the  forces  of  nature  and  adapt- 
ing material  resources  to  the  necessities  and  wants  of  man. 

This  inventive  genius  I  regard  as  one  of  the  godlike  quali- 
ties given  to  man,  with  which  to  solve  the  problem  of  his  ex- 
istence. Nor  does  the  influence  exerted  by  this  divine  attribute 
have  relation  merely  to  the  physical  conditions  about  us,  but  to 
our  moral,  social  and  political  condition  and  surroundings. 
Place  a  philosopher  in  the  midst  of  poverty  and  squalor,  and 
he  will  gravitate  towards  corruption  and  beastiality.  The  men 
who  are  compelled  to  endure  an  unceasing  round  of  drudgery 
in  order  to  subsist  or  exist  become,  ultimately,  little  better  than 
mere  beasts  of  burden. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  385 

I  do  not  intend  to  intimate  by  this  that  labor  is  in  itself  de- 
grading. Far  from  it.  I  do  not  speak  of  labor  in  its  proper 
sense,  but  of  toilsome,  wearing  drudgery,  sometimes  called 
labor.  L,abor  itself  is  ennobling,  dignifying  and  refining,  even 
as  idleness  has  a  tendency  to  the  reverse. 

It  would  be  well  for  us  to  look  for  a  moment  still  further  into 
the  causes  which  led  to  the  insertion  of  the  clause  in  the  Con- 
stitution which  is  the  foundation  of  our  Patent  System.  We 
must  study  cause  and  effect  together,  and  to  do  so,  we  must 
look  a  little  farther  back  through  the  pages  of  time  than  that 
gathering  of  the  fathers  which  framed  our  Constitution. 

States  have  been  carved  out  upon  the  battlefield  or  created  in 
the  counsel  chamber,  or  have  grown  up  in  the  process  of  time 
without  feeling  that  necessity  for  a  power,  welded  into  the 
fundamental  law,  to  remunerate  inventors  and  authors  as  public 
benefactors.  But  a  century  ago  the  world  was  just  entering 
upon  its  inventive  period.  Scientists  and  philosophers  were 
groping  after  the  natural  laws,  dragging  them  one  by  one  from 
their  obscurity  and  revealing  them  to  the  wondering  eyes  of 
the  people.  Invention,  that  is  the  utilization  of  the  powers 
and  principles  of  nature,  was  in  its  infancy,  being  without  en- 
couragement or  hope  of  reward. 

In  the  Constitutional  Convention  sat  Benjamin  Franklin, 
aged  and  near  his  end,  but  fresh  from  his  intercourse  with  the 
brilliant  band  of  philosophers  and  scientists  at  Paris  whose 
audacious  theories  and  researches  were  the  fit  harbinger  of  the 
awful  regime  about  to  be  ushered  in.  The  world  was  ripe  for 
wondrous  changes,  some  silent  and  scarcely  felt,  others  resound- 
ing through  the  world  with  their  momentous  and  dread  import. 
We  cannot  pause  to  measure  the  relative  importance  of  these 
different  changes.  Suffice  it  that  all  of  them  hurled  themselves 
against  the  inertia  of  the  past,  that  all  of  them  proclaimed  in 
the  ears  of  the  startled  world  "  The  order  changeth,  give  place 
to  new. ' ' 

Liberty  was  awake  and  was  stretching  her  pinions  for  an 
awful  flight.  Invention  was  but  half  awake  and  beholding  in 
dreamy  visions  the  children  that  were  soon  to  be  born  of  her. 
Her  flight  was  at  first  more  gradual,  but  increased  in  speed  so 


386  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

wondrously  that  of  late  it  had  been  beyond  the  power  of  mortal 
man  to  accurately  mark  her  course. 

The  Patent  System  was  the  offspring  of  the  inventive  genius 
of  the  age.  Invention  in  turn  was  fostered  and  vindicated 
the  Patent  System.  This  has  gone  on  until  the  two  have 
become  entwined  with  one  another  and  inseparable. 

But  for  the  Patent  System  only  an  infinitesimal  part  of  the 
triumphs  of  inventive  genius,  which  crowd  about  us  in  such 
numbers  that  we  are  wholly  unable  to  appreciate  their  extent 
and  magnificence,  would  have  been  accomplished,  and  if  we 
would  cut  the  ground  from  beneath  the  material  prosperity  of 
the  age,  there  is  no  way  in  which  it  could  be  so  effectively  done 
as  by  a  repeal  of  our  patent  laws. 

Now,  what  has  been  the  effect  of  the  system  upon  the  con- 
dition of  our  country  ?  Does  it  levy  unjust  and  onerous  tribute 
upon  the  people  ?  Do  we  realize  that  of  all  the  patents  issued 
not  ten  per  cent,  pay  the  inventor  or  his  assigns  the  actual  cost  of 
perfecting  the  invention  and  obtaining  letters  patent  therefor? 
Nor  must  it  be  inferred  from  this  that  these  several  inventions 
are  worthless  to  the  community.  Far  from  it.  Bach  marks  a 
step  in  the  line  of  progressive  development  and  is  of  value  as 
such,  and  for  every  cent  paid  to  inventors,  more  than  one 
thousand  are  realized  by  the  general  public  in  the  use  of  in- 
ventions with  or  without  paying  proper  compensation  therefor. 

It  is  true  that  fortunes  are  made  out  of  single  inventions  and 
the  price  charged  for  the  right  to  use  the  device  or  machine 
may  appear,  and  often  is,  extravagant.  But,  do  we  stop  to 
reflect  that  we  need  not  use  it  ?  We  have  still  at  our  command 
the  old  way,  and  it  would  seem  obvious  that  the  new  device 
would  not  be  used  unless,  notwithstanding  the  tax,  it  were 
better  and  cheaper,  for  after  all  the  advantage  or  disadvantage 
to  the  user  is  what  controls. 

We  stick  to  the  old  way  unless  we  see  a  positive  advantage 
in  substituting  the  new.  So  the  profit  is  shared  in  by  the 
many.  It  is  susceptible  of  demonstration  that  if  the  inventors 
of  the  past  century  could  have  a  just  balance  struck  between 
what  they  have  contributed  to  the  pecuniary  advantage  and 
general  prosperity  of  the  community  and  the  pecuniary  profit 
which  they  have  received  themselves,  there  would  be  found 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE  CONGRESS.  387 

due  the  inventors  a  sum  in  excess  of  the  national  debts  of 
England  and  the  United  States 

I  will  briefly  call  attention  to  what  the  inventive  genius  of 
man,  prompted  and  encouraged  by  our  Patent  System,  has 
accomplished  in  comparatively  few  years.  In  the  history  of 
nations  centuries  are  brief  periods.  And  here  I  may  stop  to 
say  that  if  I  should  draw  a  sharp  contrast  between  the  possi- 
bilities under  the  old  order  of  things  prior  to  the  adoption  of 
our  Constitution,  and  that  which  is  not  only  possible,  but 
commonplace  to-day,  I  should  be  deemed  even  in  the  presence 
of  known  facts  as  having  great  powers  of  imagination,  and 
taking  too  much  liberty  with  truth. 

But  for  this  influence  boot  and  shoemakers  would  still  toil 
fifteen  hours  a  day  instead  of  ten,  and  by  reason  of  the  in- 
creased demand  shoes  might  now  be  a  luxury  beyond  the 
reach  of  many. 

The  great  famines  of  history  have  become  no  longer  possible 
on  account  of  the  improved  means  of  transit  and  transportation. 
All  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  1840,  with  all  the  means 
then  at  their  command,  could  not  have  harvested  one  of  our 
present  annual  corn  or  wheat  crops,  and  had  they  succeeded 
in  doing  so  it  would  have  rotted  in  the  barns  for  lack  of  means 
of  transportation  to  spots  where  at  the  same  moment  famine 
was  reigning. 

I  have  often  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  one  day's  wages 
of  a  Boston  mechanic  would  pay  the  cost  of  transporting  the 
year's  supply  for  his  family  from  Chicago,  the  great  Western 
market,  to  Boston.  Fifty  years  ago  one  month's  salary  would 
not  have  been  sufficient  for  that  purpose. 

The  Hon.  David  A.  Wells,  in  his  most  admirable  book 
entitled  ' '  Recent  Economic  Changes, ' '  tells  us  that  five  acres 
of  wheat  can  be  brought  from  Chicago  to  Liverpool  for  less 
than  the  cost  of  manuring  one  acre  in  England.  And  that 
Indian  corn,  which  has  been  extensively  raised  in  Italy,  can 
be  brought  from  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  sold  in  Italy  at 
less  than  the  home  product,  although  the  Italian  laborer 
receives  but  one-third  of  the  wages  of  the  American.  A  few 
years  ago  five  million  people  perished  in  one  district  in  China 


388  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

from  starvation  because  the  bountiful  harvests  of  other  districts 
could  not  be  conveyed  to  their  relief. 

Without  the  perfected  railroad  and  telegraph  systems,  as  Mr. 
Wells  justly  observes,  the  war  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
Federal  Union  under  the  existing  Constitution,  could  not  prob- 
ably have  been  prosecuted  to  a  successful  conclusion,  and  even 
if  no  domestic  strife  had  intervened,  it  is  more  than  doubtful 
whether  a  federation  of  numerous  States,  sovereign  in  many 
particulars,  flowing  down  the  stream  of  time  like  an  elongated 
series  of  separate  rafts  linked  together,  could  have  been 
indefinitely  perpetuated  when  the  time  necessary  to  overcome 
the  distance  between  its  extremities  and  the  mere  transmission 
of  intelligence  amounted  to  from  twenty  to  thirty  days.  So 
much  for  improvements  and  transportation. 

Nearly,  and  probably  fully,  one-half  of  all  those  who  now 
earn  their  living  in  industrial  pursuits  do  so  in  occupations 
which  not  only  had  no  existence,  but  which  had  not  even  been 
conceived  of  one  hundred  years  ago.  When  Arkwright 
invented  his  cotton  spinning  machinery  in  1760,  there  were  in 
England  about  eight  thousand  persons  engaged  in  the  produc- 
tion of  cotton  textiles.  The  introduction  of  his  invention  was 
opposed  on  the  ground  that  it  threatened  the  ruin  of  these 
working  people.  This  was  equally  true  of  many  labor-saving 
machines,  and  is  an  argument  that  is  still  used  in  spite  of  the 
facts.  Results,  however,  vindicated  the  claim  that  the  labor- 
saving  machine  is  a  most  beneficent  friend  of  labor.  Note 
what  followed  the  invention  of  Arkwright.  I  quote  largely 
from  the  work  of  Mr.  Wells  :  ' '  Twenty -seven  years  subse- 
quent to  the  invention  the  Parliamentary  inquiry  showed  that 
the  number  of  persons  actually  engaged  in  the  spinning 
and  weaving  of  cotton  had  arisen  from  seven  thousand  nine 
hundred  (7,900)  to  three  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  (320,- 
ooo),  an  increase  of  four  thousand  four  hundred  (4,400)  per 
cent. ,  and  now,  including  those  engaged  in  subsidiary  indus- 
tries, such  as  calico  printing,  the  number  is  two  million  five 
hundred  thousand  (2,500,000)." 

Mr.  Wells  remarks  upon  the  singular  anomaly  that  while 
the  increasing  cost  of  labor  is  the  greatest  stimulant  to  inven- 
tion, the  laborer  who  finds  employment  in  connection  with  the 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  389 

new  inventions  generally  commands  higher  wages  than  was 
possible  under  the  previous  conditions,  and,  what  is  quite  as 
important  to  the  laborer,  each  invention  creates  a  new  indus- 
try, in  which  the  higher  and  nobler  faculties  of  the  mind  are 
employed. 

In  the  manufacture  of  certain  kinds  of  tinware  seventy-five 
pieces  are  now  produced  at  the  cost  of  producing  one  fifty 
years  ago,  and  in  every  department  of  the  tin  manufacture  the 
cost  of  production  has  been  greatly  cheapened,  prices  to  con- 
sumers reduced,  consumption  more  than  quadrupled,  and  yet 
the  number  of  men  employed  in  the  factories  has  constantly 
multiplied  and  their  wages  constantly  advanced. 

Again,  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Wells  for  the  information  that 
since  1870  the  price  of  articles  of  glassware,  such  as  goblets, 
tumblers,  wine-glasses,  etc. ,  has  been  reduced  seventy  or  eighty 
per  cent,  in  consequence  of  methods  which  encourage  labor 
and  improvement  in  quality  of  the  manufacture.  At  the 
same  time  the  wages  of  the  workmen  have  advanced  seventy 
to  one  hundred  per  cent. ,  with  a  considerable  reduction  in  the 
hours  of  labor.  On  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  the  cost  per 
mile  run  for  locomotive  service  has  fallen  from  26.52  cents  in 
1857  to  13.93  in  1886,  and  in  the  same  period  the  wages  of 
engineers  and  firemen  have  arisen  from  4.51  cents  to  5.52  cents 
per  mile  run.  In  other  words,  the  engineers  and  firemen  who 
received  in  1857  seventeen  per  cent,  of  the  entire  cost  of  loco- 
motive service  received  in  1886  forty  per  cent. ,  the  reduction 
in  the  cost  per  mile  run  being  wholly  effected  by  invention  and 
improvements  in  machinery. 

The  truth  is  really  more  startling  than  fiction.  If  the  stories 
of  the  writers  who  have  regaled  us  by  descriptions  of  the  deeds 
wrought  by  the  supernatural  powers  of  the  mythological  period 
of  the  world  were  true,  they  would  still  be  eclipsed  by  the 
actual  possibilities  of  to-day.  L,et  me  see  whether  I  am  correct 
in  this.  We  read  of  what  the  heroes  and  demigods  accom- 
plished at  the  siege  of  Troy  and  in  the  battles  in  which  the 
upper  powers  were  said  to  have  taken  part.  Would  Agam- 
emnon and  Archiles,  leading  the  armies  of  Greece,  with  Mars 
and  Pallas  fighting  by  their  side,  have  been  able  to  sustain  a 
seizure  against  Helen  of  Troy  and  her  hand-maids,  if  the 


390  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   CONGRESS. 

latter  had  stood  upon  Trojan  battlements  supplied  with  the 
modern  implements  of  war,  the  Greeks  fighting  with  the  wea- 
pons of  their  day  ?  It  will  be  obvious  to  this  convention  that 
the  fickle  Helen,  aided  only  by  her  maids,  could  have  destroyed 
the  armies  of  Greece  and  driven  the  Grecian  fleets  from  the 
Trojan  Coast,  or  sunk  them  in  the  sea. 

It  is  truly  said  that  time  and  space  have  been  annihilated, 
but  what  are  the  illustrations  ?  Could  the  fleet  Mercury,  with 
his  winged  sandals,  keep  pace  with  the  messenger  of  Morse  ? 
Could  Jupiter  hurl  thunderbolts  as  terribly  destructive  as  our 
1 6-inch  cannon  or  our  2o-inch  mortars?  Could  Neptune  hold 
his  own  on  the  Sea  against  such  navies  as  now  ride  the  deep, 
supplemented  by  our  system  of  torpedoes  and  submarine  mines  ? 
There  is  not  a  skillful  blacksmith  in  the  United  States  who 
would  consent  to  use  the  crude  appliances  of  Vulcan's  fabled 
shop.  Every  youth  familiar  with  mythology  has  wondered  at 
the  marvelous  feats  performed  by  the  gods  and  demigods.  The 
inventor  has  taught  us  how  to  surpass  everything  they  did, 
whether  in  the  arts  of  peace  or  war. 

The  twelve  labors  of  Hercules  would  be  undertaken  by  any 
contractor  in  the  United  States  in  good  standing,  and  he  would 
give  bond  with  approved  security  to  complete  the  work  within 
half  the  time  required  by  the  son  of  Jupiter.  This  statement  may 
sound  startling  and  exaggerated,  but  it  is  indeed  the  truth. 
The  powers  we  exert  now  are  not  of  mythological  origin,  but 
from  the  inspiration  of  the  living  God. 

Those  who  censure  the  Patent  System  too  often  assume  that 
the  inventor  puts  forth  no  effort,  and  that  the  wonderful  pro- 
ductions of  authors  and  inventors  involve  little  thought,  slight 
study  and  reflection,  and  next  to  no  labor.  Nothing  could  be 
farther  from  the  fact.  L,et  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  those  whose 
names  appear  upon  the  records  in  the  United  States  and  other 
countries  as  patentees  do  not  comprise  the  list  of  inventors, 
even  approximately.  Neither  would  this  list  of  inventors, 
could  it  be  accurately  compiled,  disclose  the  entire  number  of 
those  who  are  busy  in  the  various  fields  of  study,  investigation 
and  experiment,  endeavoring  to  solve  some  important  problem 
in  art  or  science,  to  benefit  mankind.  The  patentees  are  those 
who  reached  the  goal  first,  but  a  mighty  army  was  moving  to 
occupy  the  ground,  and  each  one  of  the  host  may  have  con- 


PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE    CONGRESS.  391 

tributed  by  thought  or  act  to  the  ultimate  success  attained,  no 
matter  to  whom  the  first  honor  may  have  been  awarded.  Each 
hoped  to  be  the  first,  and,  encouraged  by  the  provisions  of  our 
Patent  Laws,  he  labored  on  to  the  end. 

A  greater  number  of  men  gave  time,  labor  and  money  to  the 
task  of  inventing  and  perfecting  the  reaper  and  mower  as  we 
see  it  to-day  in  the  harvest  fields  than  were  employed  in  con- 
structing the  several  Pacific  railroads. 

Caesar  conquered  Gaul  with  a  force  numerically  less  than 
was  employed  in  inventing  and  perfecting  the  parts  of  the  sew- 
ing machines  that  are  used  in  the  homes  of  our  country  to-day. 
Sewing  machines  are  more  than  two  centuries  old. 

The  roll  of  all  those  who  have  given  earnest  study  and  labor 
to  the  invention  and  perfection  of  the  printing  press  and  the 
steam  engine  would  be  longer  than  that  which  contains  the 
names  of  all  the  soldiers  who  fought  the  battles  of  the  Revo- 
lution. In  short,  the  war  to  subdue  the  forces  of  nature,  to 
make  them  submissive  and  obedient  to  the  human  will  requires 
a  more  numerous  and  better  trained  army  than  was  mustered 
to  conquer  the  warlike  tribes  of  men. 

A  revolution  in  the  industrial  arts  and  applied  sciences  proves 
of  greater  advantage  and  is  more  permanent  and  farther  reach- 
ing in  its  influence  for  good  than  the  most  successful  political 
and  social  revolutions.  The  revolution  in  the  arts  is  silent 
though  potent.  It  goes  forward  with  constantly  accelerated 
speed  and  yet  so  noiselessly  that  we  are  unconscious  of  it  ex- 
cept as  we  witness  results. 

The  influence  of  the  revolution  wrought  by  the  author  and 
inventor,  through  the  inspiration  and  encouragement  of  the 
Patent  and  Copyright  System,  is  about  us  on  every  hand.  It 
is  constantly  before  our  eyes  and  palpable  in  fact  to  all  our 
senses.  Of  this  we  are  sometimes,  in  fact  generally,  forgetful. 
In  conclusion,  I  submit  that  there  is  not  a  home,  not  a  shop, 
mill  or  factory,  not  a  highway  of  travel  nor  an  artery  of  com- 
merce, not  a  field,  river,  lake  or  ocean  which  does  not  bear 
irrefutable  testimony  of  the  great  value  of  this  system,  and 
abundantly  attest  the  foresight  of  our  fathers  in  planting  in  the 
Constitution  the  seed  of  this  fruitful  harvest  of  rich  blessing 
for  their  children. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  393 


THE  RELATION  OF  INVENTION  TO  THE  COM- 
MUNICATION OF  INTELLIGENCE  AND  THE  DIF- 
FUSION OF  KNOWLEDGE  BY  NEWSPAPER  AND 
BOOK. 

BY  HON.  WIUJAM  T.  HARRIS,  COMMISSIONER  OF  EDUCATION. 


By  reason  of  his  physical  nature  man  is  hampered  by  three 
wants — he  needs  food,  clothing  and  shelter.  In  his  first  and 
lowest  stage  of  civilization  man  lives  in  a  state  of  enthrallment 
to  nature.  He  dreads  and  worships  the  cruel  forces  of  matter. 
But  by  the  aid  of  science,  and  invention  which  flows  from 
science,  man  attains  domination  or  control  over  things  and  forces 
and  directs  them  into  the  service  of  humanity  for  use  or  for 
beauty.  The  soul  conquers  nature  by  science  and  machinery, 
and  then  next  it  desires  to  see  this  conquest  over  nature 
reflected  in  works  of  art.  Hence  it  creates  architecture,  sculp- 
ture, painting,  music,  and  poetry — all  of  these  fine  arts  por- 
traying man's  victory  over  wants  and  necessities. 

If  the  spectacle  of  pauperism  and  crime — the  savagery  that 
still  lingers  in  the  slums  of  our  cities  sternly  reminds  us  of  the 
yet  feeble  hold  which  our  civilization  has  obtained  even  in 
cities — if  the  census  of  mankind  proves  that  three-fourths  are 
yet  counted  as  below  the  line  that  separates  the  half-civilized 
from  the  civilized — yet  we  are  wont  to  console  ourselves  by  the 
promise  and  potency  which  we  can  all  discern  in  productive 
industry  aided  by  the  might  of  science  and  invention.  This 
view  is  always  hopeful.  We  see  that  there  is  a  sort  of 
geometric  progress  in  the  contest  over  things  and  forces.  The 
ability  of  man  to  create  wealth  continually  accelerates.  The 
more  he  obtains  the  more  he  can  obtain.  The  more  each 
one  gets  the  more  his  neighbor  also  can  get.  Even  the  weak- 
lings of  society — the  paupers  or  beggars,  the  insane,  and  the 
criminals  all  fare  better  in  the  centres  of  wealth  than  they  do  at 
a  distance  from  them  where  there  is  no  wealth  to  beg  or  steal, 


494  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

and  no  asylums  created  and  sustained  by  wealth  to  shelter 
and  heal  their  diseased  bodies. 

Wealth  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  word,  far  more  than  in 
its  ancient  sense,  is  self-productive.  It  is  capital,  and  capital 
is  wealth  that  generates  wealth.  Capital  represents  conquered 
forces  and  things — conquered  for  the  supply  of  human  wants. 
Capital  consists  of  natural  forces  yoked  and  set  to  work  for 
food,  clothing,  shelter  and  the  facilities  of  human  culture. 
The  three  physical  wants  (food,  clothing  and  shelter)  are  pro- 
duced by  Nature — they  are  the  chains  and  fetters  whereby 
Nature  asserts  her  right  to  enslave  humanity — to  keep  man  in  a 
state  of  thraldom. 

But  the  Promethean  cunning  of  man,  realized  first  in  science 
and  next  in  useful  machines,  has  succeeded  in  subduing  the 
powers  of  nature  and  imposing  on  them  the  task  of  supplying 
and  gratifying  the  very  needs  which  nature  creates  in  us. 
Nature  has  chained  man  to  the  task  of  daily  toil  for  food, 
clothing  and  shelter.  But  man  turns  back  upon  nature  and 
compels  her  to  take  the  place  of  human  drudgery  and  pro- 
duce an  abundance  of  these  needed  supplies  and  bring  them 
wherever  they  are  needed  for  consumption.  This  is  accom- 
plished by  mechanical  combinations  that  secure  the  service  of 
steam,  electricity,  and  various  forms  of  earth,  air,  fire  and 
water. 

This  self-generating  wealth  that  exists  in  the  shape  of  capi- 
tal is  so  much  on  the  increase  that  it  fills  all  classes  of  our 
population  with  hopes,  or  if  not  with  hopes,  at  least  with  dis- 
contents— and  discontent  is  certainly  the  product  of  hope 
struggling  up  from  the  depths  of  the  soul.  Without  the  vivid 
preception  of  a  higher  ideal  and  without  the  feeling  that  it  is 
attainable,  there  would  not  be  any  such  thing  as  discontent. 
The  average  production  of  each  man,  woman  and  child  in  the 
United  States  increased,  in  the  thirty  years  between  1850  and 
1880,  from  about  25  cents  per  day  to  40  cents — an  increase  of 
60  per  cent.  This  means  the  production  of  far  more  substan- 
tial improvements  for  human  comfort.  Much  more  wealth  is 
created  that  possesses  an  enduring  character  and  may  be 
handed  down  to  the  next  generation.  Finer  dwellings,  better 
roads  and  streets,  fences  for  lands,  drainings,  levelings,  and 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  395 

the  processes  necessary  to  bring  wild  land  under  cultivation, 
artificial  supplies  of  water  and  gas,  the  warehouses  and  eleva- 
tors and  the  appliances  of  commerce — and  finally  the  buildings 
and  furnishings  of  culture,  including  churches,  schools,  libra- 
ries, museums,  asylums,  and  all  manner  of  public  buildings. 

If  science  progresses  and  its  concomitant,  useful  invention, 
progresses  as  fast  for  the  next  hundred  years  as  it  has  done 
for  the  past  forty  years,  the  vision  of  Edward  Bellamy  of 
comfort  for  all  will  be  realized  without  the  necessity  of  any 
form  of  socialism.  There  will  be  comfort  and  even  luxury  for 
all  who  will  labor  a  moderate  amount  of  time. 

Science  inventories  nature  and  discovers  properties  and  pos- 
sible combinations.  Invention  uses  these  combinations  to  meet 
mechanical  problems.  Can  any  one  doubt  who  looks  into  the 
state  of  science  and  its  continually  improving  methods  that  the 
conquest  of  nature  will  be  more  rapid  in  the  coming  century 
than  it  has  been  in  the  past  century  ? 

But  we  are  challenged  by  the  question,  What  is  the  good  of 
annihilating  the  necessity  for  bodily  toil  ?  Will  not  man  de- 
generate spiritually  as  he  comes  to  possess  luxury  at  cheaper 
and  cheaper  rates  ?  These  material  advantages  gained  by  use- 
ful invention  which  create  a  steady  and  permanent  supply  of 
food,  clothing  and  shelter,  are  they  not  mere  sumptuary  pro- 
visions and  do  they  imply  real  progress  in  civilization  ? 

To  this  challenge  we  reply  by  pointing  out  the  '  *  Relation  of 
Invention  to  the  Communication  of  Intelligence  and  the  Dif- 
fusion of  Knowledge  by  Newspaper  and  Book. ' ' 

In  the  first  place  it  is  obvious  that  the  three  classes  of  em- 
ployments devoted  chiefly  to  the  supply  of  the  physical  wants, 
namely,  agriculture,  manufactures,  and  commerce  are  under- 
going change  by  aid  of  mechanic  invention  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  bring  the  laborer  everywhere  more  and  more  into  relation 
with  his  fellow  men.  In  other  words,  commerce  increases  more 
and  more,  and  becomes  a  part  of  all  employments.  In  ex- 
changing goods  each  gets  something  that  he  needed  more  than 
what  he  parted  with.  But  the  best  result  of  the  exchange  is 
the  acquaintance  formed  between  the  buyer  and  seller.  Bach 
has  learned  something  of  the  other's  ideas,  and  modes  of  looking 


396  PROCEEDINGS  OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

at  the  world,  and  habits  of  action.  Bach  one's  life  is  enriched 
by  the  knowledge  of  the  life  of  another. 

Man  as  a  spiritual  being  has  for  his  problem  the  exploration 
of  the  two  worlds — the  worlds  of  nature  and  of  man.  The  prob- 
lem is  too  great  for  the  individual  and  he  must  avail  himself  of 
the  work  of  others.  Each  man  may  inventory  a  small  portion 
of  nature  different  from  all  others.  Bach  one  may  live  a  life 
different  from  another's.  But  the  individual  gets  a  very  small 
glimpse  of  nature  by  the  aid  of  his  own  senses,  and  he  gets  a 
very  small  arc  of  the  total  of  human  life  in  his  survey  of  his 
own  biography. 

But  by  intercommunication  each  one  may  extend  and  supple- 
ment his  own  observations  of  nature  and  of  the  experience  of 
life  by  aid  of  the  sense  perceptions  of  others  and  still  more  by 
aid  of  the  thoughts  and  reflections  of  others. 

We  see  at  once  that  man  is  man  because  he  possesses  and 
uses  this  means  of  re-enforcing  his  individual  observations  and 
reflections  by  those  of  the  race.  Man  as  individual  is  endowed 
with  the  power  of  absorbing  the  results  of  the  race.  We  have 
with  this  a  definition  of  civilization  and  a  standard  of  measure- 
ment by  which  we  may  determine  the  rate  of  progress. 

Advancement  implies  that  there  are  improved  means  realized 
by  which  each  individual  can  give  to  the  rest  of  mankind  the 
results  of  his  living  and  doing  and  thinking,  and  at  the  same 
time  share  in  the  lives,  thoughts,  and  deeds  of  all  others. 

Looked  at  in  the  light  of  this  definition,  we  shall  be  able  to 
see  something  more  hopeful  in  the  material  progress  promised 
us  in  the  coming  century  than  a  cheap  supply  of  bodily  com- 
forts. We  see  a  progressive  increase  of  intercommunication 
which  will  enable  each  individual  to  command  the  results  of  the 
rational  intelligence  of  all  mankind. 

Man  is  first  a  speaking  animal  and  next  a  writing  animal. 
Bach  word  that  he  uses  expresses  a  general  meaning.  Bach 
word  therefore  stores  up  an  indefinite  amount  of  experience. 
All  men  may  pour  into  it  their  experience  and  by  it  recognize  the 
experience  of  others.  The  art  of  writing  at  once  increases  in- 
finitely the  possibility  of  intercommunication,  because  it  pre- 
serves the  experience  recorded  for  persons  widely  separated  in 
space  and  far  removed  in  time.  It  renders  every  where  in  some 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  397 

sense  a  here  and  every  when  a  now.  But  mechanic  invention 
comes  to  the  aid  of  speech  and  the  elementary  arts  of  writing 
by  printing  with  moveable  types.  Printing  and  gunpowder  are 
two  great  elementary  arts  both  attributed  to  the  Germanic  race — 
the  two  wheels  of  modern  civilization,  so  to  speak.  But  the 
Anglo-Saxon  has  added  the  steam-engine  and  the  telegraph. 
The  one  makes  locomotion  possible  to  an  increasing  degree,  and 
the  other  makes  instantaneous  intercommunication  with  all 
places  possible. 

Armed  with  these  instrumentalities,  our  modern  civilization 
lives  on  a  sort  of  spiritual  borderland.  It  looks  across  its  fron- 
tier and  is  iu  a  constant  process  of  interaction  with  all  other 
nations.  The  great  instrument  of  this  process  is  the  daily 
newspaper.  People  are  becoming  from  year  to  year  a  traveled 
people — in  a  short  time  the  per  cent,  of  the  population  that  has 
crossed  the  ocean  has  doubled.  The  per  cent,  that  has  visited 
the  Western  borderland  has  quadrupled.  But  the  per  cent,  of 
people  who  live  in  constant  daily  inter-relation  with  all  man- 
kind by  aid  of  the  daily  newspaper  has  increased  a  hundred- 
fold within  a  single  generation. 

This  single  fact  is  the  most  significant  one  in  all  modern 
history.  By  a  glance  into  its  meaning  we  see  to  what  an 
extent  our  civilization  has  become  a  constant  miracle. 

There  go  to  the  making  up  of  the  newspaper  of  to-day  a 
vast  congeries  of  mechanical  and  intellectual  appliances.  It  is 
so  complete  in  its  instrumentalities  that  it  realizes  many  of  the 
conceptions  cherished  in  the  childhood  of  the  race  as  mytho- 
logical fancies.  Odin's  ravens,  the  wishing-cap  of  Fortu- 
natus  ;  the  cloak  of  invisibility,  the  "seven-league  boots,"  the 
winged  feet  of  Mercury — in  short,  all  appliances  whereby  a 
then  becomes  a  now  and  whereby  a  there  becomes  a  here,  are 
well-nigh  realized  in  the  modern  daily  newspaper,  so  far 
as  the  presentation  to  each  man  of  the  spectacle  of  the  activity 
of  his  entire  race  is  concerned.  The  consequences  of  this  fact 
are  momentous.  It  is  obvious  that  there  is  an  immense 
shrinkage  in  the  importance  of  near  events,  of  events  that 
concern  small  transactions.  The  consequent  enlargement  of 
the  views  of  ordinary  men,  who  form  the  masses  of  mankind, 
follows  as  a!result. 


398  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

It  follows  also  that  urban  life — the  life  of  the  inhabitant  of 
the  city,  with  its  social  advantages — penetrates  the  country 
wherever  the  railroad  and  telegraph  make  possible  the  daily 
newspaper.  It  follows,  moreover,  that  the  mind  of  the  average 
citizen  becomes  habituated  to  thinking  of  the  great  individ- 
ualities of  the  world,  such  as  corporations,  states,  vocations, 
social  organizations,  institutions,  commercial  enterprises, 
national  undertakings ;  to  seeing,  in  short,  the  activity  of  his 
fellow-men  under  the  form  of  vast  processes,  instead  of  that 
former  narrow  view  of  mere  individual  exploits  of  mere  com- 
monplace people. 

Another  consequence  of  this  is  the  gradual  elimination  of 
mere  local  peculiarities,  the  limitations  of  caste  and  narrow 
self-interest,  and  the  consequent  approach  of  the  ideas  of  each 
and  every  people — that  participates  in  civilization  and  supports 
its  daily  newspapers  —  towards  a  common  ideal  standard  of 
humanity.  This  is  not  a  reduction  of  all  to  one  insipid 
standard  on  a  lower  level ;  it  is  the  elevation  of  the  members 
of  the  human  race  to  the  higher  level  of  its  ideal. 

The  daily  glimpse  of  the  spectacle  of  the  human  race,  which 
our  generation  is  becoming  accustomed  to,  combines  in  one 
all  the  educative  virtues  of  the  means  and  appliances  hereto- 
fore employed  by  the  four  forms  of  education  furnished  by  the 
institutions  of  civilization,  namely  :  the  family,  civil  society, 
the  state,  and  the  church. 

In  proportion  as  the  spectacle  of  the  whole  world  of  human- 
ity becomes  an  adequate  one,  and  its  presentation  a  complete 
one,  it  becomes  wholesome  and  moral. 

The  growth  of  prose  fiction  in  modern  times  is  a  marvelous 
phenomenon  that  is  not  to  be  explained  apart  from  the  fact  of 
the  newspaper  and  periodical  which  has  furnished  the  vehicle 
for  its  transmission  to  the  public  that  reads  it. 

Not  only  does  the  well-equipped  daily  newspaper  represent 
on  its  editorial  staff  the  topics  of  commerce  and  transportation, 
the  courts,  the  local  gossip,  the  telegraph  news,  the  political 
movements,  the  new  discoveries  in  science  and  the  useful  arts, 
and  the  new  productions  in  the  fine  arts,  but  it  gives  its  de- 
partment of  fiction,  in  which  the  manners  and  morals  of 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  399 

society  are  reflected,  the  virtues  and  vices  and  their  conse- 
quences, and  especially  the  habits  of  polite  society. 

If  we  but  consider  it,  even  the  so-called  ' '  trashy  novel' ' 
has  a  side  of  usefulness.  It  is  condemned  because  of  its 
description  of  empty  trifles,  the  ceremonies  and  civilities  of 
polite  society  ;  it  expends  much  space  in  giving  the  outermost 
appearance  of  things,  and  its  characters  are  mere  ' '  dummies ' ' 
like  those  which  the  clothier  and  the  milliner  use  to  support  and 
display  their  costumes.  But  even  these  empty  externalities 
are  interesting  and  valuable  to  the  youth  who  is  trying  to  rise 
from  a  low  condition  into  polished  society  by  industry  and  the 
acquirements  of  wealth.  The  boorishness  of  manner  which 
hinders  him  in  his  progress  of  ascent  is  in  process  of  removal 
through  familiarity  with  the  ways  of  society  which  he  finds 
described  in  his  ' '  trashy  ' '  novel. 

Whatever  may  be  the  causes  of  crime,  whatever  may  be  its 
prevention  or  cure,  there  is  force  in  the  argument  that  the 
tendency  of  stories  of  crime  is  to  become  more  true  to  the 
realities,  and  to  present  the  career  of  the  criminal  in  its  native 
hideousness.  All  literary  art  progresses  toward  completeness 
of  representation,  and  even  the  depraved  taste  soon  tires  of 
stories  which  always  describe  the  criminal  as  successful  against 
the  law ;  and  the  moment  that  the  history  of  the  criminal  is 
given  with  truth,  and  his  deed  is  shown  to  involve  its  own 
dreadful  consequences,  then  even  the  criminal  novel  becomes 
moral  in  its  tone. 

There  is  an  element  of  revolt  against  what  is  rational  in  every 
one  of  us,  as  unregenerate  or  as  merely  natural  beings,  i.  e. ,  as 
animals.  It  is  only  as  we  gradually  learn  to  recognize  in  the 
law  a  correct  statement  of  our  essential  being  that  we  become 
reconciled  to  it,  and  take  sides  against  the  violator  of  justice 
and  right.  Until  then  we  are  prone  to  feel  interest  in  the  out- 
law, as  in  one  who  raises  the  banner  of  individual  freedom. 
Liberty  is  confounded  with  license. 

It  is  here  that  we  approach  the  question  of  punishment  as  it 
is  involved  in  the  newspaper.  For  not  only  is  the  newspaper 
infinitely  great  as  an  instrumentality  for  education  and  the 
widening  of  intelligence,  but  in  its  function  of  punisher  of  sin 
and  crime,  it  is  the  most  terrible  engine  yet  invented. 


400  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE   CONGRESS. 

The  urban  or  city  civilization  is  a  newspaper  civilization,  if 
we  characterize  it  by  the  most  important  instrument  that  it  has 
invented.  Into  the  daily  newspaper  as  into  a  magic  mirror 
the  modern  citizen  looks  and  sees  the  spectacle  of  the  doings  of 
the  entire  world.  The  movements  of  commerce  ;  the  transac- 
tions of  the  various  nations  in  so  far  as  these  are  outside  of 
routine  ;  extraordinary  crimes  and  retributions  ;  the  events  of 
society  ;  the  doings  in  science,  art,  literature,  the  drama,  and 
an  indefinite  domain  of  personal  gossip — all  these  are  presented 
to  the  citizen,  and  he  regularly  adjusts  himself  each  morning 
to  his  world  environment. 

Formerly,  before  the  railroad  and  telegraph  had  rendered 
possible  the  daily  newspaper,  each  person  adjusted  himself  to 
his  narrow  environment  through  village  gossip  which  he  heard 
at  the  neighboring  inn  or  at  the  clubs.  Now,  instead  of  village 
gossip,  he  reads  world  gossip  without  leaving  his  fireside  or 
breakfast-table. 

In  the  past  civilization  each  section  grew  more  sectional,  ex- 
cept in  times  of  great  wars  that  mingled  the  soldiery  of  different 
localities.  In  the  modern  civilization  the  daily  newspapers  of 
all  lands  have  substantially  the  same  presentation  of  the  world, 
and  reflect  more  nearly  the  same  views.  The  newspaper  is 
therefore  a  sort  of  world  court,  in  which  passing  events  are 
brought  up  daily  for  judgment. 

Under  these  circumstances  there  arises  into  power  the  majestic 
presence  of  public  opinion,  a  might  which  controls  the  actions 
of  kings,  the  deliberations  of  parliaments,  and  the  ballots  of 
electors.  Public  opinion  is  become  the  educator  of  nations. 
Formerly,  through  ignorance  of  the  effect  that  overt  acts  might 
have,  nations  were  often  precipitated  into  war.  Now  it  is  easy 
for  statesmanship  to  feel  the  pulse  of  nations  in  advance,  and 
by  prudent  diplomacy  avoid  extreme  issues. 

The  newspaper  is  the  organ  of  public  opinion,  and  in  this 
capacity  it  tries  and  judges  criminals,  and  it  punishes  all  man- 
ner of  sin  that  escapes  the  whip  of  the  law.  It  rewards  good 
deeds,  and  sounds  the  trumpet  of  fame  before  the  favorites  of 
public  opinion.  The  newspaper  popularizes  science  and  litera- 
ture. It  has  a  page  of  fiction,  in  which  the  modern  literary 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  401 

artist  paints  the  ideals  of  society  with  halos  of  glory  or  with 
satire  and  caricature. 

When  each  human  being  beholds  the  same  spactacle  beheld 
by  all  others,  and  assists  all  in  forming  the  high  court  of  public 
opinion,  there  is  realized  at  once  the  most  powerful  educational 
means  ever  invented  for  uniting  men  in  thought  and  sentiment. 
Even  the  old-fashioned  village  gossip  was  a  powerful  means  in 
its  way  to  eliminate  from  the  individual  his  whimsicalities  and 
idiosyncrasies.  The  modern  public  opinion  is  based  on  world 
gossip,  and  is  far  more  potent  for  good.  Mrs.  Grundy's  opinion 
becomes  dignified  and  oracular  when  it  voices  the  verdict  of 
nations. 

One  consequence  of  this  new  realization  of  the  magic  mirror 
in  which  all  humanity  is  reflected  is  the  rise  of  the  true  cosmo- 
politan spirit — a  mutual  toleration  of  all  peoples.  A  profounder 
habit  of  considering  one's  fellow-men  enables  us  to  see  the 
same  humanity  under  strange  disguises  of  costume  and  diverse 
language. 

By  the  printed  page,  now  universally  diffused  and  the  possi- 
ble possession  of  every  member  of  society,  the  humblest  indi- 
vidual has  access  at  his  own  pleasure  and  convenience  wherever 
time  and  place  find  him,  to  the  wisest  and  most  gifted  of  his 
race.  He  may  penetrate  by  his  industry  during  his  leisure 
hours  their  deep  solutions  of  the  problem  of  life,  and  become 
himself  wise  like  them. 

Not  only  the  printed  book  affords  this  access,  but  the  printed 
page  of  the  newspaper  comes  more  and  more  to  serve  up  each 
morning  for  the  people  of  every  urban  population  i.  e.y  every 
city  and  town  and  every  village  on  the  railroad,  a  spiritual 
breakfast,  with  many  courses  ;  a  few  thoughts  of  the  wise,  a 
poem  or  two,  some  popular  statements  of  the  recent  results  of 
science,  some  pieces  of  biography  and  history  and,  chiefly,  a 
complete  picture  of  the  movement  of  the  world  of  humanity 
far  and  near — so  complete  a  picture  that  from  day  to  day  the 
events  seem  to  march  forward  from  inception  to  denouement, 
before  our  eyes,  with  the  consequence  and  necessity  that  we  see 
in  the  dramas  of  ^schylus  and  Sophocles.  Through  the  prose 
reality  of  everyday  life  as  seen  in  the  newspaper  column  there 
shines  the  great  purpose  of  history. 


402  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

We  find  the  printed  page  in  its  myriad  forms  the  most  potent 
agency  for  the  realization  of  the  high  spiritual  being  of  man  in 
the  image  of  God,  and  the  most  perfect  means  for  the  emanci- 
pation of  man  from  slavery  to  his  own  ignorance  and  passions, 
and  from  his  dependence  on  others  for  guidance  and  direction. 
He  becomes  less  dependent  on  a  fellow-man  for  master — one 
brain  to  govern  two  pair  of  hands  —  and  more  independent 
and  self-directive,  more  rational,  and  more  participative  in  the 
wisdom  and  goodness  of  the  human  race. 

This  participation  has  been  rendered  possible  by  the  inven- 
tions which  have  brought  the  art  of  printing  to  what  it  is  and 
by  the  other  inventions  that  have  facilitated  transportation  and 
rapid  communication. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS.  403 


THE  BIRTH  OF  INVENTION. 

BY  PROFESSOR  OTIS  T.  MASON,  PH.  D.,  OF  VIRGINIA,  CURATOR 
U.  S.  NATIONAL  MUSEUM. 

"What  a  plastic  little  creature  man  is!  so  shifty,  so  adaptive!  his 
body  a  chest  of  tools,  and  he  making  himself  comfortable  in  every 
climate,  in  every  condition." — Emerson. 

In  this  apotheosis  of  invention  and  inventors,  to  me  has 
been  assigned  the  pleasing  task  of  leading  you  back  for  a  few 
moments  to  the  cradle  of  humanity.  Those  are  happy  hours 
to  most  of  us  when  we  recall  the  days  of  childhood.  To 
trace  the  lives  of  celebrated  men  and  women  to  the  springs 
of  their  moral  and  intellectual  power  brings  never-fading 
delight.  To  study  the  rise  and  progress  of  a  nation  or  any 
social  unit  is  worthy  of  exalted  minds.  But  the  most  profitable 
inquiry  of  all  is  the  search  for  the  origin  of  epoch-making 
ideas  in  order  to  comprehend  the  history  of  civilization,  to 
conjure  up  those  race  memories  in  which  each  people  trans- 
mits to  itself  and  to  posterity  its  former  experiences. 

Kvery  invention  of  any  importance  is  the  nursery  of  future 
inventions,  the  cradle  of  a  sleeping  Hercules.  But  my  task  is 
to  speak  of  primitive  man  and  his  efforts. 

It  will  aid  us  in  prosecuting  our  journey  backward  to  orient 
ourselves  with  reference  to  the  present.  For  two  days  we  have 
listened  to  the  eloquent  papers  of  my  predecessors,  written  to 
glorify  the  nineteenth  century.  Through  this  faculty  of  inven- 
tion the  whole  earth  is  man's.  There  is  not  a  lone  island  fit 
for  his  abode  whereon  some  Alexander  Selkirk  has  not  made 
a  home.  Kvery  mineral,  plant  and  animal  is  so  far  known 
that  a  place  has  been  found  for  it  in  his  Systema  Natures. 
Every  creature  is  subject  to  man ;  the  winds,  the  seas,  the 
sunshine,  the  lightning  do  his  bidding.  Projecting  his  vision 
beyond  his  tiny  planet,  this  inventing  animal  has  catalogued 
and  traced  the  motion  of  every  star. 

But  his  crowning  glory  (which  always  fills  me  with  admira- 
tion) is  his  ever- increasing  comprehensiveness.  After  cen- 


404  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

turies  of  cultivating  acquaintance  with  the  discrete  phe- 
nomena around  him,  he  has  now  striven  to  coordinate  them, 
to  make  them  organic,  to  read  system  into  them.  He  has 
learned  by  degrees  to  comprehend  all  things  as  parts  of  a  single 
mechanism.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  and  Kepler  conceived  all  objects 
and  all  worlds  to  be  held  by  universal  gravitation.  And  thus, 
in  our  century,  von  Baer  and  Humboldt  taught  that  the 
world,  in  all  its  forces  and  materials,  is  an  integrated  cosmos. 
Any  one  who  is  the  least  familiar  with  the  progress  of  philos- 
ophy will  recall  that  since  the  dawn  of  written  history  the 
thoughts  of  men  were  tending  to  this  unification.  Shortly 
after  this  first  effort  at  comprehensive  unity  Mayer,  Rumford 
and  Joule  invented  the  methods  of  demonstrating  the  oneness 
of  physical  forces,  the  conservation  of  energy.  Wollaston, 
KirchofF  and  Bunsen  devised  the  delicate  apparatus  to  prove 
the  chemical  identity  of  all  worlds.  Lamarck,  Geoffrey  St. 
Hilaire  and  Darwin  taught  the  consanguinity  of  all  living 
beings.  Helmholtz  and  Meyer  coordinated  nervous  excitation 
with  mental  activity.  Comte  and  Spencer  grasped  the  unity 
of  all  sensible  phenomena.  Newton,  L,eibnitz  and  Hamilton 
projected  their  minds  beyond  phenomena  and  invented  mathe- 
matics of  four  or  more  dimensions,  conceiving  of  worlds  and 
systems  that  under  the  present  order  of  nature  can  have  no 
objective  reality.  Over  all  this,  into  many  great  souls,  have 
come  the  notions  of  infinite  space  and  time  and  causation. 
The  idea  of  limitation  to  thought  or  achievement  no  longer 
enters  the  imagination.  The  depth  of  the  sea,  the  distances 
of  the  stars,  the  concealment  of  the  earth's  treasures,  the 
minuteness  of  the  springs  of  life  and  sense,  the  multiplicity 
and  complicity  of  phenomena  are  only  so  many  incitements  to 
greater  achievements.  The  daring  souls  of  this  decade  are 
determined  at  any  risk  to  answer  the  inquiry  of  Pontius 
Pilate,  What  is  truth  ?  With  sympathetic  enthusiasm  we  wave 
them  on,  bidding  them  god-speed. 

But,  I  ask  you  now  to  forget  all  this  and  go  with  me  to  that 
early  day  when  the  first  being,  worthy  to  be  called  man,  stood 
upon  this  earth.  How  economical  has  been  his  endowment. 
There  is  no  hair  on  his  body  to  keep  him  warm,  his  jaws  are 
the  feeblest  in  the  world,  his  arm  is  not  equal  to  that  of  a  go- 


PROCEEDINGS    OF   THE    CONGRESS.  405 

rilla,  he  cannot  fly  like  the  eagle,  he  cannot  see  into  the  night 
like  the  owl,  even  the  hare  is  fleeter  than  he.  He  has  no  cloth- 
ing, no  shelter.  ' '  Foxes  had  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air 
had  nests,  but  this  man  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head. ' '  He 
had  no  tools  or  industries  or  experience,  no  society  or  lan- 
guage or  arts  of  pleasure,  he  had  yet  no  theory  of  life  and 
poorer  conceptions  of  the  life  beyond. 

All  nature  laughed  at  him.  The  sun  said,  I  will  blister  his 
skin.  The  storm  said,  I  will  spit  upon  him.  The  sea  said,  I 
will  drown  him.  The  noxious  malaria  said,  I  will  parch  him 
with  fevers.  The  lion,  the  wolf,  the  tiger  said,  I  will 
devour  him.  The  mountain  sheep  withheld  her  fleece  and 
lambs.  The  wild  ass  and  the  wild  horse  fled  away  in  scorn. 
The  silly  fish  said,  I  know  you  not,  and  the  birds  skimmed 
the  air  around  him  in  mockery.  There  were  no  waving  grain 
fields,  nor  golden  cornfields,  nor  tempting  vineyards,  nor 
fragrant  orchards. 

"Poor  naked  wretches,  on  the  edge  of  time, 
That  bide  the  pelting  of  this  pitiless  storm, 
How  shall  your  houseless  heads  and  unfed  sides  defend  you 
From  seasons  such  as  these  ?  " 

King  Lear^  tit,  i. 

Whatever  we  may  say  of  our  own  golden  age,  surely  his 
was  not  around  him  nor  above  him.  If  he  had  one  at  all  it  was 
within  him. 

"Heaven  flowed  upon  the  soul  in  many  dreams  of  high  desire." 

—  Tennyson,  "THE  POET." 

The  road  from  that  condition  to  our  own  lies  next  to  the  in- 
finite. The  one  endowment  that  this  creature  possessed  hav- 
ing in  it  the  promise  and  potency  of  all  future  achievements, 
was  the  creative  spark  called  invention.  The  superabundant 
brain  over  and  above  all  the  amount  required  for  mere  animal 
existence,  held  in  trust  the  possibilities  of  the  future,  and 
stamped  upon  man  the  divine  likeness.  This  naked  ignoramus 
is  the  father  of  the  clothed  philosopher,  looking  out  into  infin- 
ite space  and  time  and  causation.  It  may  give  you  pleasure 
to  know  something  about  the  connections  between  these  two 
and  the  witnesses  to  these  connections. 


406  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

There  are  five  guides  whose  services  we  have  to  engage  on 
our  interesting  journey.  The  first  is  History,  who  does  not 
know  the  way  very  far  back — not  over  three  thousand  years — 
with  much  certainty.  The  second  is  Philosophy,  the  study  of 
which  in  our  own  century  has  enabled  us  to  find  the  cradle- 
land  of  many  peoples.  The  third  is  Folk-Lore,  the  survival  of 
belief  and  custom  among  the  uneducated.  The  fourth  is  Arch- 
geology,  history  written  in  things.  The  fifth  is  Ethnology, 
which  informs  us  that  in  describing  this  arc  of  civilization  some 
races  have  only  marked  time,  while  others  have  moved  with 
radii  of  varying  lengths.  The  result  of  this  is  that  we  now 
have  on  the  earth  types  of  every  sort  of  culture  it  has  ever 
known.  At  the  present  moment,  within  hailing  distance  of  yon- 
der most  beautiful  dome  in  the  world  dwell  all  these  witnesses 
—the  relics  of  the  stone  age,  the  Indian  village  of  Nacochtank 
or  Anacostia,  the  folk-lore  of  both  continents,  and  the  litera- 
tures of  the  world.  While  you  are  listening  to  the  encomiums 
of  our  decade,  palaeolithic  man  sends  in  the  testimony  of  his 
handicraft,  the  Smithsonian  Institution  treasures  the  inventions 
of  the  most  primitive  races,  and  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  un- 
ravels the  mysteries  of  savage  tongues. 

As  the  fragment  of  a  speech  or  song,  a  waking  or  a  sleeping 
vision,  the  dream  of  a  vanished  hand,  a  draught  of  water  from 
a  familiar  spring,  the  almost  perished  fragrance  of  a  pressed 
flower,  call  back  the  singer,  the  loved  and  lost,  the  loved  and 
won,  the  home  of  childhood,  or  the  parting  hour,  so  in  the 
same  manner  there  linger  in  this  crowning  decade  of  the  crown- 
ing century  bits  of  ancient  ingenuity  which  recall  to  a  whole 
people  the  fragrance  and  beauty  of  its  past. 

From  the  testimony  of  these  five  witnesses  we  learn  that 
there  never  was  a  time  when  man  was  not  an  inventor — never 
a  time  when  he  had  not  some  sort  of  patent  on  his  invention. 
They  affirm  that  every  art  of  living  and  all  the  arts  of  pleasure 
were  born  in  the  stone  age ;  that  graphic  art,  sculpture,  archi- 
tecture, painting,  music  and  the  drama,  had  their  childish  pro- 
totypes in  that  early  day  ;  that  language  is  one  of  the  very 
earliest  of  inventions,  the  vehicle  of  savage  oratory,  philosophy 
and  science.  They  affirm  that  society  has  been  a  series  of  in- 
ventions from  the  first ;  that  legislation,  justice,  government, 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE  CONGRESS.  407 

property,  exchange,  commerce,  have  not  sprung  out  of  the 
ground  but  within  our  definition  are  inventions.  And  even  the 
creeds  and  cults  of  mankind,  whatever  view  you  may  take  of 
the  divine  element  underneath  them,  have  been  thought  out 
and  wrought  out  with  infinite  pains  from  time  to  time  by  earn- 
est souls.  But  they  had  their  origin  in  the  cradle-land  and  in 
the  infancy  of  our  race.  What  we  enjoy  is  only  the  full-blown 
flower,  the  perfected  fruit  of  which  they  possessed  the  germ. 
I^et  me  enforce  this  idea,  as  we  glorify  the  material  prosperity 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  that  many  centuries  ago  men  sat 
down  and  with  great  pains  and  sorrow  invented  the  language, 
the  art,  the  industries,  the  social  order  which  made  our  machines 
feasible  and  desirable. 

There  is  no  conflict  between  the  testimony  of  these  witnesses 
and  the  doctrine  commonly  taught  that  men  do  not  invent 
customs  and  languages,  but  fall  into  them.  Reflect  a  moment 
upon  your  own  daily  life  and  you  will  recognize  two  sets  of 
activity,  those  which  you  originate  and  those  in  which  you 
follow  suit.  Animals  can  learn  to  follow  suit,  and  to  a  very 
limited  extent  can  originate.  But  it  is  the  divine  spark  of 
originality  which  underlies  every  thought  or  device  in  this 
world.  As  one  man  invents  a  machine  and  others  by  thousands 
fall  into  the  use  of  it,  as  the  musician  composes  a  song  and 
millions  sing  it,  so  was  it  in  the  cradle-land  of  humanity,  the 
inventor,  touched  with  fire  from  the  divine  altar,  set  new 
examples  to  be  followed.  If  we  were  to  interrogate  our  five 
witnesses  particularly  with  reference  to  the  ancestry,  the 
family  tree  of  the  notable  inventions  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
their  answer  would  be  somewhat  as  follows.  We  ought  to 
remember,  however,  that  an  invention  is  not  always  a  thing ; 
but  that  it  may  be  any  series  of  actions  conducing  toward  some 
new  end.  Keep  in  mind,  also,  that  all  our  activities  involve 
tools,  processes  and  products,  and  that  invention  may  take 
place  in  any  or  all  of  these. 

The  ancestor  of  the  steam  plow  is  the  digging-stick  of 
savagery,  a  branch  of  a  tree  sharpened  at  the  end  by  fire  ;  the 
progenitors  of  the  steam  harvester  and  thresher  were  the  stone 
sickle,  the  roasting-tray,  or,  later  on,  the  tribulum. 


408  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

The  cotton  gin  and  power  loom  are  among  the  wonders  of 
our  age.  Yet  in  that  day  of  which  we  are  speaking  human 
fingers  wrought  the  textile  from  first  to  last.  They  gathered 
the  bark  or  wool,  colored  them  to  suit  the  primitive  taste,  spun 
and  wove  them  with  simple  apparatus  and  left  upon  the  fabric 
patterns  that  are  the  despair  of  all  modern  machine-makers — 
patterns  that  are  a  pleasure  to  the  eye  by  their  infinite  variety, 
replaced  in  modern  fabrics  by  a  dreary  monotony  that  awakens 
pain  instead  of  pleasure. 

The  first  sewing-machine  was  a  needle  or  bodkin  of  bone, 
with  dainty  sinew  thread  from  the  leg  of  the  antelope,  and  for 
thimble  a  little  leather  cap  over  the  ends  of  the  fingers. 
Coarse,  indeed,  the  apparatus,  but  the  hand  was  deft,  the  eye 
was  true,  the  sense  of  beauty  was  there,  and  so  that  needle- 
woman of  long  ago  wrought  in  fur  from  the  mammals,  feathers 
from  the  birds,  grasses  from  the  fields,  shells  from  the  sea, 
wings  from  the  beetle  and  skins  of  snakes,  with  tasteful  geometric 
figures.  You  do  err  who  think  those  ancient  needlewomen 
had  no  taste.  It  would  be  hard  to  invent  a  pattern  now  that 
was  unfamiliar  to  them. 

The  first  engine  was  run  by  man  power,  then  man  subdued 
the  horse,  the  ass,  the  camel  and  invented  engines  for  those  to 
propel.  He  next  domesticated  the  winds,  the  waters,  the 
steam,  the  lightning,  but  the  first  common  carriers  and  machine 
power  were  men  and  women.  The  first  burden  train  was 
women's  backs;  the  first  passenger  car  was  a  papoose  frame. 
And  even  now,  while  I  am  speaking  to  you,  more  heavy  loads 
are  resting  on  human  shoulders  than  upon  all  the  pack  animals 
in  the  world.  Hence  our  nursery  rhyme — 

Rock  a  by  baby  on  a  tree  top, 
When  the  wind  blows 
The  cradle  will  rock. 
When  the  bough  bends, 
The  cradle  will  fall. 
Down  will  come  cradle, 
And  baby  and  all. 

The  poetry  of  to-day  is  the  fact  of  yesterday,  the  dream  of 
yesterday  is  the  fact  of  to-day.  When  the  savage  woman  a 
century  or  two  ago,  upon  this  very  spot,  strapped  her  dusky 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   CONGRESS.  409 

offspring  to  a  rude  frame,  hung  it  upon  the  nearest  sapling  for 
the  winds  to  rock,  or  lifted  the  unfortunate  suckling  from  the 
ground  to  which  it  had  been  hurled  by  the  bending  of  an  unsafe 
bough,  that  was  a  fact,  a  stage  in  the  history  of  invention.  In 
our  now-a-days  couches  of  down,  swung  from  gilded  hinges, 
we  have  got  far  ahead  of  the  papoose  cradle,  the  memory  of 
which  we  perpetuate  in  nursery  rhymes  sung  to  children,  who 
wonder  why  babies  should  be  hung  in  the  tops  of  trees  and 
think,  doubtless,  that  the  falling  cradle  was  a  just  retribution 
on  the  silly  parents. 

What  is  more  beautiful  than  an  ocean  steamer,  with  skin  of 
steel  drawn  over  ribs  of  steel  and  closed  above  against  the  in- 
trusion of  the  waves.  Have  you  never  seen  the  picture  of  the 
Eskimo,  still  in  the  stone  age,  who,  over  a  framework  of  drift 
wood  or  whale's  rib,  stretches  a  covering  of  sealskin  and  learned 
therein  to  defy  the  waves  hundreds  of  years  ago  ? 

Only  now  and  then  the  angry  sky  was  lighted  for  the  primi- 
tive man  by  electricity,  and  even  then  it  filled  him  with  terror. 
But  it  was  he  that  invented  the  apparatus  for  conjuring  from 
dried  wood,  by  a  rude  sort  of  dynamo,  the  Promethean  spark. 
It  was  our  Aryan  ancestors  that  paid  their  devotions  to  the 
rising  sun  by  kindling  fresh  fire  every  morning  as  the  orb  of 
day  flashed  his  first  beam  across  the  earth. 

Who  has  not  read  with  almost  breaking  heart  the  story  of 
Palissy,  the  Huguenot  potter.  But  what  have  our  witnesses 
to  say  of  that  long  line  of  humble  creatures  that  conjured  out 
of  prophetic  clay,  without  wheel  or  furnace,  forms  and  decora- 
tions of  imperishable  beauty,  which  are  now  being  copied  in 
glorified  material  in  the  best  factories  of  the  world  ?  In  ceramic 
as  well  as  in  textile  art  the  first  inventors  were  women.  They 
quarried  the  clay,  manipulated  it,  constructed  and  decorated 
the  ware,  burned  it  in  a  rude  furnace  and  wore  it  out  in  a 
hundred  uses. 

He  had  no  printing  press,  but  he  could  tie  knots  in  a 
marvelous  fashion  and  write  letters  on  bark  or  on  bits-of  raw  hide 
and  leave  memorials  of  himself  in  the  book  of  stone.  He 
made  words  and  sentences,  invented  language,  developed 
artistic  forms  of  speech  handed  down  to  us  in  the  eloquent 


410  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 

harangues  of  his  sages.  He  breathed  his  thoughts  in  poetry, 
a  kind  of  childish  rhythm. 

In  the  time  of  which  we  now  are  speaking  the  telegraph  was  a 
series  of  signal  fires  and  a  marvelous  code  of  signs,  which  a 
distinguished  scholar  of  our  city  has  just  unraveled. 

Primitive  man  developed  the  art  of  war,  means  of  offense 
and  defense  ;  weapons  of  percussion,  for  cutting  and  thrusting  ; 
projectiles,  armor,  fortification,  strategy. 

Nowhere  has  man  pressed  his  hand  so  effectively  upon  nature 
as  in  the  domestication  of  animals.  It  is  almost  incredible  that 
ravening  wolves  and  merciless  felines  should  become  faithful 
dogs  and  purring  cats  ;  that  the  wild  sheep  and  goat  should 
descend  from  their  inaccessible  fastnesses,  and  yield  their  fleece 
and  flesh  and  milk ;  that  horses,  asses,  camels,  elephants, 
should  be  induced  to  lend  their  backs  and  limbs  to  lighten  the 
loads  of  the  first  common  carrier.  This  process  of  impressing 
his  own  qualities  on  wild  creatures  began  very  early  in  history 
and  has  continued  uninterruptedly  from  first  to  last. 

In  the  uncertainty  of  the  marriage  relation  and  of  paternity, 
he  provided  every  woman  with  support  and  every  child  with  a 
home,  through  his  ingenious  gentile  system. 

His  affairs  of  state  were  managed  through  his  patent  sys- 
tem. The  great  inventors  were  made  the  rulers  of  the  people, 
and  his  highest  title  to  nobility  was  a  most  puissant  and  inge- 
nious one. 

He  had  courts  of  justice,  heard  witnesses,  executed  his  laws. 
It  is  true  that  the  methods  were  summary,  when  a  chancery 
suit  was  settled  by  an  execution  on  the  same  day  as  the  death 
of  the  devisor.  But  out  of  his  struggles  came  our  methods, 
and  the  greatest  drawback  to  securing  justice  now  is  the  survi- 
val of  his  antiquated  customs  into  our  new  practices. 

He  invented  philosophies  and  sciences,  explained  the  uni- 
verse and  himself  to  himself.  This  seems  puerile  now,  but  it 
was  the  beginning  of  all  our  own  speculations,  necessary  to  us 
at  present,  but  which  will  to-morrow  become  folk-lore.  Over 
and  over  again,  those  who  preceded  me  on  this  platform  have 
pointed  to  James  Watt  as  the  true  deliverer  of  mankind.  Far  be 
it  from  me  to  take  one  leaf  from  his  laurel  crown  ;  but  the  in- 
ventor of  the  alphabet,  of  the  decimal  system  of  notation,  of 


PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS.  411 

representative  government,  of  the  golden  rule  in  morality,  were 
greater  than  he. 

For  the  dream  in  stone  and  carving  and  decoration  called  a 
cathedral, 

"Where,  through  long-drawn  aisle  and  fretted  vault, 
The  pealing  anthem  swells  the  notes  of  praise," 

that  early  day  has  only  to  offer  wild  shouts  in  unison  under  the 
starlit  dome,  touched  by  the  first  childish  aspirations  after  the 
divine  or  hopes  of  immortality. 

While  you  look  with  admiration  upon  these  panoramas  of 
progress  you  cannot  have  failed  to  observe  on  the  canvas  that 
the  art,  the  process  of  inventing  itself,  has  undergone  the  very 
same  development  and  improvement  as  the  things  invented. 
There  is  in  this  a  marvelous  similarity  to  the  life  processes  of 
animals  and  plants.  The  homogeneous  yolk  of  the  egg  during 
incubation  becomes  wonderfully  complex  and  heterogeneous  ; 
but  all  of  these  diverse  parts  come  together  into  a  higher  unity, 
in  which  each  organ  ministers  to  the  good  of  all.  The  earliest 
invention  was  a  single  homogeneous  act,  an  original  suggestion, 
a  happy  thought.  The  patent  on  this  was  an  immediate  and 
individual  benefit.  A  sharper  knife  of  flint,  a  better  scraper, 
a  longer  spear,  a  stouter  thread  wrought  better,  and  the  reward 
was  more  execution.  Now,  the  man  who  made  the  best  weapons 
killed  the  most  game,  from  that  game  he  got  better  food,  that  food 
made  him  stronger,  that  strength  made  him  chief,  that  chief- 
taincy gave  him  more  wives,  more  children,  more  cohorts  to  sup- 
port his  throne.  The  best  woman  to  cook  or  sew  or  carry  loads 
got  the  best  husband;  that  was  her  patent.  From  these  simple 
methods  of  inventing  and  rewarding  invention  we  come  on  to  the 
Olympic  games,  the  monopolies,  the  patent  system.  And  now, 
in  the  inventor's  laboratory  of  Graham  Bell  or  Edison  the  climax 
is  reached,  where  one  machine  is  the  cooperative  result  of  any 
number  of  trained  minds,  and  the  reward  is  meted  out  to  each  by 
the  manufacturer;  or,  in  this  Patent  Congress  itself,  we  may  have 
a  still  more  highly  organized  unit,  wherein  the  inventors  of 
America  become  a  body  social,  and  together  shake  hands  under 
the  sea  with  the  Hmperor  of  Germany,  who  sends  his  congratu- 
lations to-day  on  the  occasion  of  our  meeting. 


412  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

We  are  assembled  to  glorify  the  first  century  of  American 
patents.  A  few  months  ago  the  disciples  of  Daguerre  met 
in  our  city  and  set  up  in  the  National  Museum  a  monument  to 
the  inventor  of  photography.  I  do  not  know  that  there  is 
another  memorial  in  America  to  an  inventor.  There  is  no 
better  way  to  insure  for  posterity  the  recollection  of  this  day 
than  by  stimulating  among  the  great  industries  the  desire  to 
continue  this  good  work  of  memorializing  their  founders.  Per- 
haps you  may  not  build  your  monument  of  stone  or  bronze, 
you  may  set  up  a  library,  you  may  solicit  a  corner  in  the 
National  Museum  or  Congressional  L/ibrary,  or  you  may  secure 
a  better  Patent  building. 

In  our  public  places  we  set  up  statues  of  the  destroyers  of 
mankind  and  erect  monuments  in  our  national  cemeteries  to 
the  anonymous  dead.  When  we  go  to  hang  garlands  upon 
the  eulogium-bearing  tombs,  we  do  not  forget  to  scatter  flowers 
upon  the  mausoleum  of  the  unknown. 

We  cannot  gather  from  the  four  corners  of  the  world  the 
bones  of  all  the  great  inventors  and  honor  them  with  a  costly 
burial.  Bven  their  names  have  perished  from  the  records  of 
mankind,  but  their  works  endure.  What  better  can  we  do 
than  to  gather  these  and  guard  them  in  our  great  museums, 
mute  witnesses  of  antiquated  arts.  I  can  imagine  these  anony- 
mous inventors  looking  upon  us  to-day  and  glad  of  this  tardy 
recognition  of  their  vicarious  sufferings. 

With  loving  recollection  of  your  labors  I  pluck  a  flower 
from  my  heart  and  strew  its  petals  over  your  neglected  graves  : 

' '  In  freta  dum  fluvii  current,  dum  montibus  umbrae 
lustrabunt  convexa,  polus  dum  sidera  pascet, 
semper  honos  nomenque  tuum  laudesque  manebunt, 
quae  me  cumque  vocant  terrae."     Aneid  /,  607. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE  CONGRESS,  413 


AMERICAN  INVENTIONS  AND  DISCOVERIES  IN 
MEDICINE,  SURGERY  AND  PRACTICAL  SANITA- 
TION. 

BY  JOHN  S.  BIUJNGS,  M.  D.,  SURGEON  U.  S.  A.,  CURATOR,  UNITED 
STATES  ARMY  MEDICAL  MUSEUM. 


In  connection  with  this  celebration  of  a  century's  work  of 
the  American  Patent  System,  I  have  been  requested  by  the 
Advisory  Committee  to  prepare  a  brief  paper  upon  inventions 
and  discoveries  in  medicine,  surgery  and  practical  sanitation, 
with  special  reference  to  the  progress  that  has  been  made  in 
this  country  in  these  branches  of  science  and  art. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  present  on  this  occasion  such  a 
summary  as  would  be  of  any  special  interest  or  use,  of  the  pro- 
gress which  has  been  made  in  medicine  and  sanitation  during 
the  century,  either  by  the  world  at  large  or  by  American 
physicians  and  sanitarians  in  particular  ;  and  I  shall  therefore 
confine  my  remarks  mainly  to  the  progress  which  has  been 
made  in  these  branches  in  connection  with  mechanical  inven- 
tions and  new  chemical  combinations  devised  by  American 
inventors — which  will  require  much  less  time. 

The  application  of  the  patent  system  to  medicine  in  this 
country  has  had  its  advantages  for  certain  people,  has  given 
employment  to  a  considerable  amount  of  capital  in  production 
(and  to  a  much  larger  amount  in  advertising),  has  contributed 
materially  to  the  revenues  of  the  government,  and  has  made  a 
great  deal  of  work  for  the  medical  profession. 

So  far  as  I  know,  but  one  complete  system  of  medicine  has 
been  patented  in  this  country,  and  that  was  the  steam,  Cayenne 
pepper  and  lobelia  system — commonly  known  as  Thomsonian- 
ism — to  which  a  patent  was  granted  in  1836.  The  right  to 
practice  this  system,  with  a  book  describing  the  methods,  was 
sold  by  the  patentee  for  twenty  dollars,  and  perhaps  some  of 
you  may  have  some  reminiscences  of  it  connected  with  your 


414  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

boyish  days.  I  am  certain  I  shall  never  forget  the  effects  of 
' '  Composition  Powder,"  or  of  "Number  Six,"  which  was 
essentially  a  concentrated  tincture  of  Cayenne  pepper,  and 
one  dose  of  which  was  enough  to  make  a  boy  willing  to  go  to 
school  for  a  month. 

From  a  report  made  by  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  in  1849, 
it  appears  that  eighty-six  patents  for  medicines  had  been 
granted  up  to  that  date  ;  but  the  specificatons  of  most  of  those 
issued  before  1836  had  been  lost  by  fire.  The  greater  number 
of  patents  for  medicines  were  issued  between  1850  and  1860. 
The  total  number  of  patents  granted  for  medicines  during  the 
last  decade  (1880-1890)  is  540. x 

This,  however,  applies  only  to  ' ' patent  medicines, ' '  properly 
so-called,  the  claims  for  which  are,  for  the  most  part,  presented 
by  simple-minded  men  who  know  very  little  of  the  ways  of  the 
world.  A  patent  requires  a  full  and  unreserved  disclosure  of 
the  recipe,  and  the  mode  of  compounding  the  same,  for  the 
public  benefit  when  the  term  of  the  patent  shall  have  expired  ; 
and  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  may,  if  he  chooses,  require 
the  applicant  to  furnish  specimens  of  the  composition  and  of  its 
ingredients,  sufficient  in  quantity  for  the  purpose  of  experiment. 
The  law,  however,  does  not  require  the  applicant  to  furnish 
patients  to  be  experimented  on,  and  this  may  be  the  reason 
why  the  Commissioner  has  never  demanded  samples  of  the 
ingredients.  By  far  the  greater  number  of  the  owners  of  pana- 
ceas and  nostrums  are  too  shrewd  to  thus  publish  their  secrets, 
for  they  can  attain  their  purpose  much  better  under  the  law 
for  registering  trade-marks  and  labels,  designs  for  bottles  and 
packages,  and  copyrights  of  printed  matter,  whicli  are  less 
costly,  and  do  not  reveal  the  arcanum. 

These  proprietary  medicines  constitute  the  great  bulk  of 
what  the  public  call  ' '  patent  medicines. ' ' 

The  trade  in  patent  and  secret  remedies  has  been,  and  still  is, 
an  important  one.  We  are  a  bitters-and-pill-taking  people  ;  in 
the  fried  pork  and  salaeratus  biscuit  regions  the  demand  for 
such  medicines  is  unfailing,  but  everywhere  they  are  found.  1 


i  For  these  figures,  and  other  data  used  in  this  paper  I  am  indebted  to 
my  friend  Mr.  H.  H.  Bates,  Chief  Examiner  in  the  Patent  Office. 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE  CONGRESS.  415 

suppose  the  chief  consumption  of  them  is  by  women  and  chil- 
dren— with  a  fair  allowance  of  clergymen,  if  we  may  judge 
from  the  printed  testimonials.  I  sampled  a  good  many  of  them 
myself  when  I  was  a  boy.  Of  course,  these  remarks  do  not 
apply  to  bitters.  One  of  the  latest  patents  is  for  a  device  to 
wash  pills  rapidly  down  the  throat. 

According  to  the  Census  of  1880  there  were  in  the  United 
States  592  establishments  devoted  to  the  manufacture  of  drugs 
and  chemicals,  the  capital  invested  being  $28,598,458,  and  the 
annual  value  of  the  product  $38,173,658,  while  there  were  563 
establishments  devoted  to  the  manufacture  of  patent  medicines 
and  compounds,  the  capital  invested  being  $10,620,880,  and 
the  value  of  the  product  $14, 682, 494. 2 

A  patent  automatic  doctor,  on  the  principle  of  ' '  put  a  quar- 
ter in  the  slot  and  take  out  the  pill  which  suits  your  case, ' ' 
has  been  proposed,  but  this  patent  is  said  to  be  of  Dutch  and 
not  of  American  origin.  The  idea  of  this  may  have  come 
from  Japan,  for  an  old  medicine  case  from  that  country  which 
I  possess,  has  four  compartments  filled  with  pills,  and  the 
label  says  that  those  in  the  first  compartment  are  good  for  all 
diseases  of  the  head,  those  in  the  second  for  all  diseases  of  the 
body,  those  in  the  third  for  all  diseases  of  the  limbs,  and  those 
in  the  fourth  are  a  sure  vermifuge. 

From  the  commercial  and  industrial  point  of  view  the  great 
importance  of  patent  and  proprietary  medicines  is  connected 
with  advertising.  The  problem  is  to  induce  people  to  pay 
twenty-five  cents  for  the  liver-encouraging,  silent-perambulat- 
ing, family  pills,  which  cost  three  cents.  Some  day  I  hope  that 
the  modern  professional  expert  in  advertising  will  favor  us  with 
his  views  as  to  the  nature  and  character  of  those  people  who 
were  induced  to  buy  Jones's  liver  pills  or  Slow's  specific  by 
means  of  a  huge  display  of  these  names  on  the  sides  and  roofs  of 
barns  and  outbuildings,  which  display  forms  such  a  prominent 
feature  in  many  of  our  American  landscapes,  as  seen  by  the 
traveler  on  the  railway.  I  suppose  there  must  be  such  peo- 
ple, for  I  have  a  high  estimate  of  the  business  shrewdness  of 
the  men  who  pay  for  these  abominations.  I  should  also  like 


See  the  Lancet,  October  5,  1889,  p.  683. 


41 6  PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

to  know  how  much  a  farmer  gets  for  allowing  his  buildings  to 
be  thus  defaced.  He  must  be  hard-up  ;  indeed  such  a  display 
indicates  that  the  place  is  probably  mortgaged  and  that  the 
poor  man  is  heavily  in  debt. 

Even  the  soap  advertisers  are  not  as  guilty  as  the  nostrum- 
makers  in  this  particular  style  of  nuisance,  although  they  far 
exceed  the  latter  in  viciousness  when  it  comes  to  applying  art 
to  ignoble  purposes.  The  connection  between  progress  in 
medicine  and  soap  advertisements  may  not  be  clear  to  you, 
but  it  exists  nevertheless,  for  many  of  these  soaps  make  work 
for  the  doctors  by  producing  skin  troubles. 

Upon  the  whole,  I  should  think  that  the  number  of  people 
who  would  take  some  trouble  to  avoid  purchasing  an  article 
which  is  thus  advertised  must  be  rapidly  increasing,  so  that 
such  displays  will  soon  be  no  longer  profitable.  The  great 
importance  of  advertising  does  not  relate  to  the.  placard  or 
chromo  business,  but  to  its  relations  to  periodical  literature — 
to  the  daily  and  weekly  press  and  the  monthly  magazines  and 
journals. 

To  the  establishment  and  support  of  some  of  our  news- 
papers and  journals,  medical  as  well  as  others,  these  pro- 
prietary and  secret  medicines,  cosmetics,  food  preparations, 
etc.,  have  no  doubt  contributed  largely. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  have  been  unable  to  obtain  definite 
information  as  to  the  direct  benefits  which  inventions  of  this 
kind  have  conferred  on  the  public  in  the  way  of  the  cure  of 
disease  or  preventing  death.  Among  the  questions  which 
were  not  put  in  the  schedules  of  the  last  census  were  the  follow- 
ing, namely :  Did  you  ever  take  any  patent  or  proprietary 
medicine  ?  If  so,  what  and  how  much,  and  what  was  the 
result  ?  Some  very  remarkable  statistics  would  no  doubt  have 
been  obtained  had  this  inquiry  been  made.  I  can  only  say 
that  I  know  of  but  four  secret  remedies  which  have  been  really 
valuable  additions  to  the  resources  of  practical  medicine,  and 
•the  composition  of  all  these  is  now  known.  These  four  are 
all  powerful  and  dangerous,  and  should  only  be  used  on  the 
advice  of  a  skilled  physician.  Most  of  such  remedies  have 
little  value  as  curative  agents,  and  some  of  them  are  prepared 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  417 

and  purchased  almost  exclusively  for  immoral  or  criminal 
purposes. 

In  France  the  sale  of  secret  and  patent  medicines  is  not 
allowed  unless  they  have  been  examined  and  approved  by  the 
National  Academy  of  Medicine,  and  the  same  general  rule 
holds  good  in  Italy  and  Spain. 

The  Japanese  have  followed  the  French  method,  and  their 
experience  is  interesting.  The  Central  Sanitary  Bureau  estab- 
lished a  public  laboratory  for  the  analysis  of  chemicals  as  a 
medicine.  The  proprietors  of  each  of  such  medicines  were 
bound  to  present  samples,  and  the  names  and  proportions  of  the 
ingredients,  directions  for  its  use  and  explanations  of  its  sup- 
posed efficacy.  According  to  a  report  in  the  British,  Medical 
Journal,  during  the  first  year  there  were  11,904  applicants  for 
license  to  prepare  and  sell  148,091  patent  and  secret  medicines. 
Permission  for  the  preparation  and  sale  of  58,638  different 
kinds  were  granted,  8,592  were  prohibited,  9,918  were  ordered 
to  be  discountenanced,  and  70,943  remained  to  be  reported  on. 
The  great  majority  of  those  which  were  authorized  were  of  no 
efficacy,  but  few  being  remedial  agents  ;  but  their  sale  was  not 
prohibited,  as  they  were  not  found  to  be  dangerous  to  the 
health  of  the  people.3  I  do  not  vouch  for  these  figures,  which 
throw  our  records  entirely  in  the  shade. 

In  1849  a  special  committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
reported  to  the  House  a  bill  to  prevent  the  patenting  of  medi- 
cines, accompanied  by  a  report.  This  bill  provided  that  after 
the  passage  of  the  act  letters-patent  shall  not  be  granted  for 
any  article  whatever  as  a  medicine,  provided  that  this  shall  not 
apply  to  machines,  instruments  or  apparatus.  When  the  matter 
came  before  the  House  for  consideration  the  bill  was  laid  on 
the  table/ 

You  are  all  aware  that  the  great  majority  of  the  medical 
profession  consider  it  to  be  improper  and  discreditable  for  a 
physician  to  patent  a  remedy.  The  Medical  Code  of  Ethics 
declares  that  it  is  derogatory  to  professional  character  ' '  for  a 
physician  to  hold  a  patent  for  any  surgical  instrument  or  medi- 

3  British  Medical  Journal,  July  3,  1880,  vol.  ii,  p.  24. 

4  Congressional  Globe,  March  3,  1849,  p.  697. 


418  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE   CONGRESS.      . 

cine  ;  or  to  dispense  a  secret  nostrum  whether  it  be  the  com- 
position or  exclusive  property  of  himself  or  others.  For  if 
such  nostrum  be  of  real  efficacy,  any  concealment  regarding  it 
is  inconsistent  with  beneficence  and  professional  liberality  ;  and 
if  mystery  alone  give  it  value  and  importance,  such  craft  im- 
plies either  disgraceful  ignorance  or  fraudulent  avarice.  It  is 
also  reprehensible  for  physicians  to  give  certificates  attesting 
the  efficacy  of  patent  or  secret  medicines,  or  in  any  way  to  pro- 
mote the  use  of  them."  Like  all  legislation,  this  is  a  formal 
declaration  of  the  customs  of  the  profession,  which  customs 
are  of  great  antiquity.  The  principle  upon  which  it  is  founded 
is  thus  expressed  by  Lord  Bacon  :  "I  hold  every  man  a  debtor 
to  his  profession  ;  from  the  which,  as  men  of  course  do  seek  to 
receive  countenance  and  profit,  so  ought  they  of  duty  to 
endeavor  themselves  by  way  of  amends  to  be  a  help  and 
ornament  thereunto. ' ' 

The  rule,  however,  is  not  always  adhered  to  by  physicians, 
the  most  notable  exception  having  been,  perhaps,  the  use  of 
Koch's  lymph  before  its  composition  was  revealed.  As  regards 
the  patenting  of  surgical  instruments  and  apparatus,  the  opinion 
of  the  great  majority  of  physicians  is  in  accordance  with  the 
rule  just  stated,  but  there  are  some  who  question  its  propriety, 
although  they  obey  it — and  there  are  few  who  would  not  use 
a  patented  instrument  in  a  case  to  which  they  thought  it  was 
applicable. 

The  total  number  of  surgical  instruments  and  appliances 
patented  during  the  past  decade  has  been  about  1,200,  the 
patents  having  been  in  almost  all  cases  taken  out  by  manufac- 
turers. With  these  may  be  classed  dentists'  tools  and  appa- 
ratus, of  which  about  500  have  been  patented  during  the  last 
ten  years,  and  in  this  field  of  invention  the  United  States  leads 
the  world.  The  same  may  be  said  with  regard  to  artificial 
limbs,  of  which  our  great  war  gave  rise  to  many  varieties. 

As  you  know,  the  law  prescribes  that  a  patent  may  be  given 
for  a  "new  and  useful  art,  machine,  manufacture  or  composi- 
tion of  matter."  I  used  to  think  that  the  word  "useful"  in 
this  law  had  its  ordinary  meaning,  and,  therefore,  wondered 
exceedingly  as  to  why  the  Patent  Office  examiners  allowed 
patents  to  certain  things  which  came  under  my  notice.  One 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  419 

day,  however,  I  received  an  article  from  the  Patent  Office,  with 
the  request  for  a  report  as  to  whether  it  was  useful  in  the  sense 
in  which  that  word  was  used  by  the  Office,  namely,  "not  per- 
nicious or  prejudicial  to  public  interests — capable  of  being 
used  " — and  then  for  the  first  time  I  understood  one  of  the  first 
principles  of  the  patent  law  of  the  United  States,  that  is,  that 
it  does  not  take  into  consideration  the  degree  of  utility  in  the 
device,  or,  in  other  words,  that  "useful"  means  "harmless." 

If  a  patent  is  granted  to  a  medicine,  it  must  be  as  a  composi- 
tion of  matter  as  a  special  article  of  manufacture.  The  prac- 
tice of  the  Patent  Office  in  these  matters  is  not  generally  under- 
stood. It  does  not  now  consider  that  medical  prescriptions  are 
inventions  within  the  meaning  of  the  law,  or  that  a  mere  aggre- 
gation of  well-known  remedies  to  obtain  a  cumulative  effect  is 
a  paten  table  composition  of  matter.  A  certain  number  of  claims 
for  Government  protection  in  the  form  of  patents  or  trade-marks 
are  made  for  medical  compounds  or  for  apparatus,  under  false 
pretences;  that  is  to  say,  the  claim  is  for  a  new  remedy  for  rheu- 
matism or  dyspepsia  or  displacement,  with  a  warning  against 
their  use  under  certain  conditions,  the  real  design  being  that 
they  are  to  be  used  under  precisely  these  conditions  in  order  to 
procure  abortion,  etc.  These  are  sometimes  difficult  cases  for 
the  Patent  Office  to  treat  properly,  for  the  law  does  not  allow 
a  large  discretion  for  refusal  on  mere  suspicion,  and  where  there 
is  ostensible  and  possible  utility  (in  the  Patent  Office  sense)  it 
can  hardly  reject  the  claim  on  the  ground  that  the  invention 
might  be  used  for  immoral  purposes. 

I  said  in  the  beginning  that  I  cannot  on  this  occasion  give 
any  sufficient  account  of  the  progress  of  invention  and  discovery 
in  medicine  and  sanitation  during  the  century  just  gone.  The 
great  step  forward  which  has  been  made,  has  been  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  true  scientific  foundation  for  the  art  upon  the  dis- 
coveries made  in  physics,  chemistry,  and  biology.  One  hun- 
dred years  ago  the  practice  of  medicine,  and  measures  to  pre- 
serve health,  so  far  as  these  were  really  efficacious,  were  in  the 
main  empirical — that  is,  certain  effects  were  known  to  usually 
follow  the  giving  of  certain  drugs,  or  the  application  of  certain 
measures,  but  why  or  how  these  effects  were  produced  was  un- 


420  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THE    CONGRESS. 

known.     They  sailed  then  by  dead-reckoning,  in  several  senses 
of  this  phrase. 

Since  then  not  only  have  great  advances  been  made  by  a  con- 
tinuance of  these  empirical  measures  in  treatment,  but  we  have 
learned  much  as  to  the  mechanism  and  functions  of  different 
parts  of  the  body,  and  as  to  the  nature  of  the  causes  of  some  of 
the  most  prevalent  and  fatal  forms  of  disease  ;  and,  as  a  conse- 
quence, can  apply  means  of  prevention  or  treatment  in  a  much 
more  direct  and  definite  way  than  was  formerly  the  case.  For 
example,  a  hundred  years  ago  nothing  was  known  of  the 
difference  between  typhus  and  typhoid  fevers.  We  have  now 
discovered  that  the  first  is  a  disease  propagated  largely  by 
aerial  contagion  and  induced  or  aggravated  by  over-crowding, 
the  preventive  means  being  isolation,  light  and  fresh  air  ; 
while  the  second  is  due  to  a  minute  vegetable  organism,  a 
bacillus,  and  is  propagated  mainly  by  contaminated  water, 
milk,  food  and  clothing  ;  and  that  the  treatment  of  the  two 
diseases  should  be  very  different. 

The  most  important  improvements  in  practical  medicine 
made  in  the  United  States  have  been  chiefly  in  surgery,  in  its 
various  branches.  We  have  led  the  way  in  the  ligation  of 
some  of  the  larger  arteries,  in  the  removal  of  abdominal  tumors, 
in  the  treatment  of  diseases  and  injuries  peculiar  to  women,  in 
the  treatment  of  spinal  affections  and  of  deformities  of  various 
kinds.  Above  all,  we  were  the  first  to  show  the  uses  of  anaes- 
thetics— the  most  important  advance  in  medicine  made  during 
the  century.  In  our  late  war  we  taught  Europe  how  to  build, 
organize  and  manage  military  hospitals ;  and  we  formed  the 
best  museum  in  existence  illustrating  modern  military  medicine 
and  surgery.  Our  contributions  to  medical  literature  have 
been  many  and  valuable  ;  and  our  government  possesses  the 
largest  and  best  working  medical  library  in  the  world.  We 
have  more  doctors  and  more  medical  schools,  in  proportion  to 
the  population,  than  any  other  country,  and  while  this  is  not 
good  evidence  of  progress,  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  sa}^  that  the 
standard  of  acquirements  in  medical  education  has  been,  and 
is  now  rising,  and  our  leading  medical  schools  are  now  being 
equipped  with  buildings,  with  apparatus,  with  laboratories, 


PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS.  421 

and  most  important  of  all,  with  brains,  which  enable  them  to 
give  means  of  practical  instruction  equal  to  any  to  be  found 
elsewhere. 

As  regards  preventive  public  medicine  and  sanitation,  we 
have  not  made  so  many  valuable  contributions  to  the  world's 
stock  of  knowledge — chiefly  because,  until  quite  recently,  we 
have  not  had  the  stimulus  to  persistent  effort  which  comes 
from  density  of  population  and  its  complicated  relation  to 
sewage  disposal  and  water  supplies  ;  nor  have  we  had  the  in- 
formation relative  to  localized  causes  of  disease  and  death, 
which  is  the  essential  foundation  of  public  hygiene,  and  which 
can  only  be  obtained  by  a  proper  system  of  vital  statistics. 
We  can,  however,  show  enough  and  to  spare  of  inventions  in 
the  way  of  sanitary  appliances,  fixtures  and  systems  for  house 
drainage,  sewerage,  etc.  ;  for  the  ingenuity  of  inventors  has 
kept  pace  with  the  increasing  demands  for  protection  from  the 
effects  of  the  decomposition  of  waste  matters,  as  increase  of 
knowledge  has  made  these  known  to  us.  The  total  number  of 
patents  granted  for  sanitary  appliances  during  the  last  decade 
(1880-1890)  is  about  1,175.  If  good  fixtures  necessarily  in- 
volve good  plumbing  work,  we  could  easily  make  our  houses 
safe  so  far  as  drainage  is  concerned  ;  but  a  leaky  joint  or  a 
tilted  trap  makes  the  best  appliance  worthless.  The  im- 
pulse to  improvements  in  this  direction  has  come  mainly  from 
England,  where  most  of  the  principles  of  good  work  of  this 
kind  have  been  devel6ped  ;  but  we  have  devised  some  details 
better  adapted  to  our  climate  and  modes  of  construction,  and 
while  many  of  the  patent  traps  and  sewer-gas  excluders  are 
only  useful  in  the  patent  law  sense,  and  some  not  even  in  that, 
it  is  nevertheless  true  that  the  safety,  accessibility  and  good 
appearance  of  plumber's  work  has  been  largely  increased 
during  the  last  few  years  by  patented  inventions.  Much  the 
same  may  be  said  with  regard  to  heating  appliances,  including 
ventilating  stoves  and  fireplaces,  radiators,  etc.,  but  I  am 
unable  to  express  any  enthusiasm  with  regard  to  what  are 
commonly  called  patent  ventilators. 

No  doubt  the  greatest  progress  in  medical  science  during  the 
next  few  years  will  be  in  the  direction  of  prevention,  and  to 


422  PROCEEDINGS   OF    THE    CONGRESS. 

this  end  mechanical  and  chemical  invention  and  discovery 
must  go  hand  in  hand  with  increase  in  biological  and  medical 
knowledge.  Neither  can  afford  to  neglect  or  despise  the 
other,  and  both  are  working  for  the  common  good.  If  the 
American  patent  system  has  not  given  rise  to  any  specially 
valuable  inventions  in  practical  medicine  or  in  theology,  it 
must  be  due  to  the  nature  of  the  subjects,  and  not  to  any  fault 
of  the  system. 


BANQUET,    WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE.      423 


ADDRESSES   AT    THE   BANQUET    OF    THE   BOARD 

OF  TRADE  OF  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

APRII,  10,  1891. 

The  honorable  M.  M.  Parker,  President  of  the  Washington 
Board  of  Trade,  made  the  following  address  of  welcome  to  the 
guests  assembled  in  the  banquet  hall  at  the  Arlington  Hotel  on 
the  evening  of  April  10,  1891  : 

ADDRESS   OF  WKI.COME. 

The  Washington  Board  of  Trade  appreciate  the  compliment 
of  being  able  to  contribute  to  the  entertainment  of  those  repre- 
senting the  inventive  genius  of  progressive  Americanism. 

Rarely  ever  has  our  city  been  permitted  to  entertain  a  more 
distinguished  gathering  than  that  which  has  been  in  attendance 
upon  the  ceremonies  incident  to  the  beginning  of  the  second 
century  of  the  American  patent  system.  When  I  say  this,  I 
pay  you  no  idle  or  empty  compliment,  since  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  during  the  past  five  years  national  and  international 
conventions  have  been  held  here. 

I  do  not  think  it  possible  to  overestimate  the  importance  of 
the  congress  just  held.  Its  benefits  will  be  far-reaching,  and  it 
will  mark  an  important  epoch  in  our  country's  progress.  It  is 
hoped  that  one  of  the  results  will  be  the  erection  in  Washing- 
ton of  a  magnificent  building  in  which  can  be  displayed  our 
working  models.  In  the  Treasury  to-day  are  nearly  $4,000,000 
covered  in  by  the  inventors  of  the  country  through  the  Patent 
Office.  Congress  could  well  afford  to  appropriate  this  money 
for  the  erection  of  this  building.  [Great  applause.]  I  want 
to  say  that  if  our  influence  is  needed,  I  will  pledge  you  the 
support  of  the  Washington  Board  of  Trade  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this  purpose.  [Great  applause.] 

Gentlemen,  the  world  moves  as  a  result  of  your  lives.  Elec- 
tricity lights  up  the  universe  and  is  fast  becoming  the  motor 
power.  Edison,  in  Melno  Park,  jogged  the  world  a  hundred 


424     BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

years.  You  whisper  in  your  telephone  and  you  sympathize 
with  your  friend  in  Chicago,  or  you  buy  stocks  in  Wall  street. 
You  drop  a  nickel  in  the  slot  and  you  listen  to  the  voices  of 
loved  ones  that  have  long  since  gone  over  the  river.  [Applause.  ] 
Alexander  Graham  Bell  has  annihilated  space  and  cuddled  the 
cities  of  the  Republic  around  a  single  fireside.  I  refer  to  the 
application  of  these  great  inventions,  not  for  the  purpose  of 
discriminating  against  the  celebrated  universal  clothes- wringer 
[laughter]  or  the  barbed  wire  combination  safety  mouse-trap 
and  a  thousand  other  inventions. 

We  recognize  with  pleasure  the  presence  of  the  honorable 
Commissioners  of  the  District — gentlemen  of  the  highest 
integrity,  gentlemen  whose  administration  meets  with  the 
approval  of  the  people  of  our  city. 

We  cannot  forget,  nor  would  you  have  us,  that  to-night  we 
celebrate  the  centenary  of  the  Capital  of  our  country,  our 
home,  your  home,  the  nation's  home.  When  we  shall  have 
listened  to  one  of  our  esteemed  citizens  address  himself  to  this 
question  at  the  proper  time,  I  know  you  will  raise  your  glasses 
and  join  with  me  in  .such  enthusiasm  as  is  proper  to  an 
American. 

We  also  feel  greatly  honored  by  the  presence  of  the  Cabinet 
Ministers,  the  advisers  of  the  President  in  the  administration 
of  good  government,  and  I  want  to  say  to  you  that  so  long  as 
you  are  our  guests  you  will  not  be  importuned  for  office.  [Ap- 
plause.] I  want  to  say  further  that  so  far  as  I  know  not  one 
single  member  of  the  Washington  Board  of  Trade  holds  a  pub- 
lic office,  nor  do  I  think  he  would  accept  one,  save  as  a  com- 
pliment to  the  administration.  [Great  applause.] 

It  is  for  this  organization,  representing  .not  only  hundreds 
of  millions  of  dollars,  but  the  most  generous  people  and  beau- 
tiful city  on  earth,  that  I  have  the  distinguished  honor  of  wel- 
coming you  to  our  hearts,  our  homes  and  to  our  hospitable 
board.  [Great  applause.] 

Gentlemen,  the  first  regular  toast  of  the  evening,  which  is 
always  drunk  standing,  and  which  every  American  drinks 
with  enthusiasm,  is  to  the  President  of  the  United  States. 


BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE.     425 

The  third*  regular  toast,  "  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  as  Related  to  the  American  Patent  System,"  will  be 
responded  to  by  Mr.  Justice  Harlan. 

RESPONSE   BY    MR.    JUSTICE   HARI.AN. 

Mr.  President,  looking  over  this  programme,  I  observe  that 
every  possible  phase  of  the  patent  system,  the  establishment  of 
which  has  been  celebrated  in  this  city  during  the  present  week, 
has  been  covered.  The  distinguished  gentlemen  who  have 
consented  to  address  you  will  say  all  that  occasion  requires. 
Surely  then,  sirs,  nothing  more  is  expected  of  me  than  that  I 
shall  acknowledge,  as  I  do  most  cordially,  the  courtesy  shown 
to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

Congress,  invested  by  the  Constitution  with  power  to  promote 
the  progress  of  science  and  the  useful  arts,  by  securing  for  lim- 
ited times  to  inventors  and  authors  the  exclusive  right  to  their 
discoveries  and  writings,  exerted  that  power  shortly  after  the 
organization  of  the  government  by  appropriate  legislation,  and 
the  courts  have  given  effect  to  that  legislation. 

The  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
bear  testimony  to  the  fidelity  with  which  that  tribunal  has 
endeavored  to  carry  into  effect  the  provisions  of  the  Constitu- 
tion and  the  enactments  of  Congress.  I  take  leave,  sir,  to  say 
this  much,  nothwithstanding  those  whose  patents  which  have 
not  been  sustained  quite  naturally  believe  that  the  court  has 
not  always  decided  correctly.  [Laugh ter.]  It  is  the  misfor- 
tune of  the  courts  that  they  cannot  please  everybody.  All 
that  they  can  do  is  to  decide  rightly  as  they  see  it,  regardless 
of  the  consequences  to  individuals. 

I  cannot  take  my  seat,  Mr.  President,  without  congratulating 
the  army  of  inventors  who  have  come  to  the  National  Capital 
to  celebrate  the  inauguration  of  a  system  which  has  done  so 
much  for  our  own  people,  and,  indeed,  for  all  mankind.  I 
must  congratulate  the  Washington  Board  of  Trade  upon  the 
interest  which  this  royal  banquet  has  added  to  the  occasion. 
You,  sir,  and  your  associates  of  that  board,  are  worthy  repre- 

*  The  addresses  at  the  banquet  which  were  upon  topics  not  related  to 
the  American  patent  system  are  omitted. 


426      BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

sentatives  of  the  business,  the  trade  and  the  prosperity  of 
Washington.  We  all,  and  indeed  the  whole  country,  owe  a 
debt  of  gratitude  for  what  you  and  they  have  done  towards 
accomplishing  the  task,  which  is  near  to  the  hearts  of  every 
American,  of  making  this  beautiful  city  the  most  attractive 
spot  in  all  the  world.  [Great  applause.] 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  fourth  regular  toast,  ' '  The  Future  of 
the  American  Patent  System,"  will  be  responded  to  by  Secre- 
tary Noble. 

RESPONSE)   BY  HON.  JOHN  W.  NOBLE,  SECRETARY  OF  THE  INTERIOR. 

Mr.  President  and  gentlemen,  my  first  duty  and  my  great 
pleasure  is  to  acknowledge  to  you,  and  the  Board  of  Trade  you 
represent,  and  to  those  distinguished  gentlemen  who  are  your 
guests,  the  very  high  compliment  of  calling  upon  me  so  early 
to  respond  to  a  sentiment  so  full  of  significance  and  hope  as 
"The  Future  of  the  American  Patent  System." 

We  stand  at  the  opening  of  a  new  century,  both  for  the  in- 
ventive genius  of  our  land  and  for  the  Capital  of  our  county. 
It  is  an  occasion  worthy  of  the  deepest  patriotism  and  of  the 
freest  expression  of  approbation  as  to  the  past  and  hope  for  the 
future. 

That  I  should  have  been  particularly  called  upon  is,  I  feel, 
and  I  have  felt  during  the  past  week,  a  little  out  of  place.  I 
am  not  after  all  so  very  familiar  with  patents,  although  the 
Secretary,  officially,  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior.  In 
fact,  a  gentleman,  an  old  soldier  friend  of  mine,  came  in  the 
other  day  in  deep  indignation  after  he  had  been  through  the 
different  bureaus  of  my  department,  and  among  the  rest  had 
seen  the  Commissioner  of  Patents,  with  his  vast  array  of  clerks 
and  the  great  business  which  he  was  performing  with  that  sig- 
nal ability  that  marks  the  present  incumbent  of  that  office. 
[Applause.]  And  he  said;  "  General,  it  is  a  shame;  it  is  a 
shame,  that  you  should  be  the  Secretary  to  all  these  Commis- 
sioners around  here. "  ' '  You  ought  to  be  a  Commissioner 
yourself;  confound  it,  you  have  earned  it."  [Daughter.] 
Well,  I  have  earned  it,  there  is  no  doubt  about  that. 

But,  gentlemen,  I  wish  to  say  another  thing  before  I  enter 
upon  the  future  of  the  patent  system,  and  that  is  that  there  is 


BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE.      427 

a  man  I  believe  already  existing  that  has  discovered  the  great- 
est patent,  yet  unknown  to  fame,  that  history  has  recounted. 
I  was  in  Russia  a  few  years  ago  (I  used  to  travel  some  before  I 
became  Secretary  ;  but  then  it  stopped),  and  while  there  I 
heard  of  a  man,  who  in  early  days  had  emigrated  from  Moscow 
to  St.  Petersburg  ;  he  had  wended  his  way  over  bog  and  hill 
until  he  arrived  at  the  place  where  he  could  make  a  substantial 
living.  After  he  had  grown  in  years  there  came  a  railroad  laid 
down  by  the  rule,  without  regard  to  commerce  or  anything  else 
except  the  necessities  of  the  military — straight  as  a  line  could 
be  drawn  between  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow.  The  old  man 
heard  that  prices  were  cheap  and  the  time  was  short  in  which 
he  could  go  to  his  old  home,  and  he  determined  one  day  to  go. 
And  packing  up  a  great  valise,  thinking  that  possibly  he  might 
be  longer  than  he  expected,  he  got  on  the  train  and  started  for 
his  old  home.  The  train  coming  from  Moscow  met  that  from 
St.  Petersburg  about  half  way.  They  have  a  drink  there—  I 
do  not  think  that  we  have  anything  here  to-night  quite  as 
strong  as  it  is.  It  is  called  Vodka,  and  it  is  a  little  stronger 
than  alcohol.  [Laughter.]  When  the  old  man  got  off  the 
train  he  met  an  old  friend  from  Moscow  who  saluted  him  and 
they  went  into  a  restaurant  and  sat  down,  and  as  is  the  custom 
among  these  people,  they  had  a  glass  or  two  of  Vodka.  When 
he  came  out  his  train  had  gone  on  to  Moscow.  He  got  on  the 
train  on  which  his  friend  was  traveling,  sat  down  and  had  a 
good  old  time.  As  the  train  went  on  towards  St.  Petersburg, 
from  whence  he  had  just  come,  he  began  to  notice  certain 
familiar  objects  on  the  way,  and  at  last  he  awoke  to  a  realization 
of  the  situation.  "Now,"  he  says,  "is  not  this  a  wonderful 
age  ?  "  "  They  cannot  only  invent  railroads,  but  they  have  got 
a  train  here  that  is  carrying  you  to  St.  Petersburg,  while  I  am 
going  to  Moscow,  at  the  same  time."  [Great  laughter.]  So, 
we  have  got  something  left  to  attend  to  yet,  gentlemen. 

I  have  been  listening  over  here  at  the  Music  Hall  to  a  num- 
ber of  very  able  papers,  and  I  will  say,  without  exaggeration, 
that  I  heard  the  most  eloquent  and  at  the  same  time  instructive 
papers  (although  I  have  been  conversant  with  men  who  talk 
and  with  conventions  throughout  this  country)  that  I  have 


428     BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

ever  listened  to,  and  I  think  the  most  conducive  to  the  pros- 
perity of  this  country.  [Great  applause.] 

After  I  had  listened  a  few  hours  and  understood  that  I  had 
to  deliver  a  toast,  as  they  call  it — it  means  a  speech — I  thought 
I  would  go  and  get  some  books  because  I  needed  them,  and  I 
sent  a  note  to  the  librarian  of  the  Patent  Office  to  send  me 
some  books  about  this  patent  business,  and  he  said  :  They  are 
all  out ;  these  men  who  are  in  the  convention  have  consumed 
them  all  ;  and,  Mr.  Secretary,  we  cannot  send  you  a  volume. 
[Great  applause.] 

Thereupon  I  addressed  myself  to  my  own  consciousness  and 
tried  to  evolve  and  invent  a  speech.  Now,  gentlemen,  in  order 
to  measure  that  great  and  glowing  future  of  this  noble  land  of 
freemen,  let  us  for  a  moment  turn  our  glance  backward  and 
see  from  whence  has  come  this  mighty  progress ;  this  great 
enlightenment ;  this  great  enlightenment  beneath  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States.  There  was  a  time  beyond  this 
century  that  has  just  been  finished  when  institutions  that  man 
had  created  were  such  that  they  subjugated  man,  both  body 
and  soul,  within  their  confines.  There  was  no  such  thing  as 
personal  liberty.  There  was  no  such  hope  as  human  aspira- 
tion had  a  right  to  expect.  The  time  grew  on  until  at  the 
beginning  of  the  century  now  just  closed  the  agitation  of  the 
people,  and  the  aspirations  of  the  souls  of  the  land  of  other 
nations  and  of  our  own  were  such  that  the  shackles  were 
broken,  the  thorns  that  existed  before  were  cast  in  the  dust, 
and  the  spirit  of  man,  in  all  its  nobility  and  possibilities,  stood 
upon  the  surface  of  this  earth  with  no  confines  beyond  those 
of  the  utmost  liberty,  and  no  controller  but  the  Almighty  who 
made  him.  When  that  time  came,  invention,  the  power  to 
conceive  and  bring  into  action  formed,  along  with  all  other 
intellectual  faculties  that  have  made  history  illustrious,  and 
from  that  day  it  arose  as  from  a  virgin  soil,  and  sought,  even 
in  distant  lands,  as  our  country  then  was,  the  opportunity  upon 
a  new  field  to  make  new  efforts  in  behalf  of  humanity.  It 
was  then  and  not  before  that  the  inventive  genius  of  our  race, 
strong  in  its  physical  power,  with  the  gray  matter  in  its  brain 
greater  than  that  of  any  other  people,  found  an  opportunity  to 
do  and  to  imagine  what  it  were  well  to  do  and  to  accomplish 


BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE.       429 

it.  If  you  take  the  history  of  the  Patent  Office  you  will  find 
that  when  it  was  initiated  there  was  no  great  rush  of  patents. 
In  1790,  the  anniversary  of  which  you  celebrate  on  this  loth 
day  of  April,  in  the  whole  year  there  were  but  three  patents 
granted.  Was  the  mind  of  man  awake  to  the  opportunity  ? 
Had  the  spirit  of  this  land  been  cultivated  so  that  it  could 
understand  a  patent  ?  No  ;  the  truth  is,  and  you  men,  I  think, 
will  bear  me  out  in  the  statement,  it  takes  almost  as  great  in- 
telligence in  a  people,  for  whom  a  patent  is  intended,  to  under- 
stand it,  as  it  does  in  the  man  who  makes  it  to  invent  it. 

If  you  go  to  China  you  can  have  imitation  perfected.  If  you 
ask  a  Chinese  to  make  a  retort  that  is  broken  on  the  neck,  he 
will  bring  you  back  a  dozen  in  exact  imitation,  even  to  the 
break.  While  they  aspire  to  the  claim  of  being  the  inventors 
of  gunpowder,  it  was  not  until  a  member  of  the  Jesuit  order 
had  introduced  it  that  they  understood  the  use  of  a  cannon. 
If  you  take  the  telescope  to  them  as  a  people  who  claim  to 
know  the  mysteries  of  the  stars  and  the  secrets  of  astronomy, 
they  place  it,  as  an  ornament,  to  be  admired  as  a  toy.  It  is  in 
vain,  my  friends,  to  look  for  success  to  the  inventor  except  he 
be,  with  his  free  thought  and  his  far-striking  intelligence, 
among  a  race  equal  to  him  and  capable  of  making  the  applica- 
tion of  his  invention  when  it  comes  to  daily  use.  [Great  ap- 
plause.] 

Let  me  say  another  thing,  among  the  very  few  things  that  I 
shall  address  you  upon.  I  have  heard  it  discussed  how  far 
the  love  of  gold  is  the  incentive  of  the  inventor.  Its  pros  and 
cons  have  been  presented  on  yonder  stage  with  ability.  Now 
for  myself  let  me  say  that  for  honest  effort  and  labor  and  all 
that  wins  gold,  nobody  will  advocate  a  reward  more  generously 
or  more  emphatically  than  myself.  The  man  that  has  earned 
it  ought  to  be  able  to  enjoy  it.  But  when  you  come  to  tell  me 
that  the  genius  which  presides  in  the  human  soul,  born  of  the 
spirit  of  the  age,  which  age  is  the  age  of  liberty,  is  stimulated 
by  the  spirit  of  avarice,  I  deny  it,  and  I  say  that  that  earth-born 
spirit  never  inspired  a  noble  thought  or  created  a  single  inven- 
tion. Go  to  Benvenuto  Cellini,  who  cast  the  statue  of  Per- 
seus, and  who  while  in  its  clay  in  the  furnace,  was  stricken 
down  with  a  fever.  He  arose  debilitated,  and  threw  the  imple- 


430      BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

ments  of  his  household  into  that  furnace  to  make  the  flux 
which  eventually  evolved  that  sublime  work  of  genius,  and 
then  tell  me  that  he  was  stimulated  by  the  love  of  gold,  and  I 
deny  it,  in  the  spirit  of  genius  and  art.  Tell  me  that  Pallissy, 
when  he  was  attempting  to  discover  the  enamel  for  pottery, 
and  in  the  last  extremity,  when  the  furnace  was  about  to  cool 
and  his  compound  yet  had  not  received  the  glaze  necessary 
he  seized  the  furniture  of  his  house  and  cast  it  into  the 
furnace,  was  stimulated  by  the  love  money,  and  I  deny  it,  in 
the  name  of  trade  and  commerce.  [Applause.]  If  you  tell  me 
that  Goodyear,  when  he,  at  the  last  extremity  was  still  seeking 
to  vulcanize  the  rubber  that  had  become  a  new  element  in  the 
productive  arts  and  a  new  article  in  commerce,  sold  the  school 
books  of  his  children  that  he  might  carry  his  experiment  to  its 
conclusion,  did  it  in  the  spirit  of  avarice,  and  I  deny  it,  in  the 
name  of  the  intelligence  of  the  race  to  which  I  belong. 
[Applause.]  If  you  tell  me  that  Benjamin  Franklin,  when  he 
stood  day  by  day  questioning  the  clouds,  while  his  soul  was 
filled  with  patriotism  and  the  love  of  liberty  and  man,  was 
seeking  a  pecuniary  fortune,  I  deny  it,  in  the  sentence  that  has 
become  immortal,  that  "  He  seized  from  the  clouds  the  light- 
ning and  from  the  King  and  tyrant  his  sceptre."  [Applause.] 

Let  us  not,  inventors  and  gentlemen,  in  this  age,  when  pre- 
sumption has  grown  gigantic,  but  when,  thank  God,  intellect 
in  congresses  like  this  have  proved  the  Ulysses  that  can  master 
the  giant  with  one  arm — as  he  always  is — let  us  not  introduce 
the  golden  calf  into  the  temple  of  the  Almighty  God.  [Ap- 
plause.] 

What  more  shall  I  say  ?  From  this  spirit  of  the  past,  the 
increasing,  all  generalizing  spirit  of  the  age  of  freedom,  of  lib- 
erty and  constitutional  government,  what  may  we  not  expect 
for  the  future  ?  He  would  be  a  vain  man  who  in  a  presence 
like  this  were  to  attempt  in  detail  to  announce  what  he  sup- 
posed the  inventions  of  the  future  might  be.  If  he  could  do 
it,  he  should  immediately  resign  from  the  office  that  I  hold  and 
go  upon  the  field  of  invention  and  make  his  fortune.  That 
thing  is  impossible.  But  gathering  from  the  thoughts  that  I 
have  thus  inefficiently  and  poorly  expressed,  may  we  not  say 
this  for  our  land,  for  our  home,  for  our  people  and  its  leaders 


BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE.       431 

in  thought,  that  its  institutions  are  broad  enough,  that  its  in- 
tellect is  strong  enough,  and  that  the  hidden  forces  of  nature 
and  the  opportunities  of  art  have  enough  yet  undeveloped 
within  them  for  that  spirit  under  such  institutions  to  develop 
yet  more  and  more  as  the  years  roll  by,  until  this  nation,  as  it 
has  been  distinguished  in  the  past  for  liberty  and  invention, 
will  become  more  and  more  marked  among  the  nations  of  the 
«arth  for  the  labors  of  those  who,  while  they  may  pursue  an 
individual  ambition,  like  their  country  and  their  country's 
laws,  seek  more  the  great  good  of  all  humanity  than  any  indi- 
vidual attainment.  May  we  not  hope  that  here,  in  the  great 
city  of  Washington,  whose  possibility  as  a  capital  has  been 
made  by  your  inventions  that  have  shrunk  the  globe  and  made 
the  center  and  the  circumference  the  same,  both  those  from  the 
inland  and  from  the  far  distant  coasts,  may  yet  come  to  view, 
either  in  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  or  something  that 
shall  relieve  that  heavily  burdened  officer -from  a  part  of  his 
care  and  yet  be  as  distinguished  as  anything  that  he  has  ever 
presided  over  —  a  Department  devoted  alike  to  the  benefit 
of  the  people,  and,  as  it  has  been,  to  the  support  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, in  which  shall  be  exemplified,  in  all  its  different 
aspects,  the  inventive  genius  of  our  people,  and  have  within  it 
such  an  abundance  of  room  that  those  who  labor  to  give  to  the 
patentee  his  title  to  the  creation  of  the  brain,  shall  not  be 
smothered  in  small  compartments  and  crowded  rooms.  May  we 
not  hope  that  the  legislators  of  this  land,  who  seek  their  sup- 
port from  their  constituencies  and  the  emoluments  and  bene- 
factions they  may  bestow  upon  them,  shall  yet  find  them  so 
enlightened  by  the  intelligence  conveyed  by  the  inventor  by 
rail  and  telegraph,  by  press  and  lightning,  that  they  shall 
say  to  him :  "Do  you  cease  to  look  to  your  district,  and 
begin  to  look  to  the  Nation."  [Applause.]  "Do  you  cease 
to  erect  within  the  small  district  that  does  not  need  it  a  vast 
building  costing  millions,  and  do  you  expand  the  organization 
of  the  Constitution  and  government,  so  that  its  functions  shall 
not  only  be  easily  but  freely  performed  that  the  Nation  may 
receive  the  full  benefit  of  the  laws  and  of  the  intelligence  of 
the  land."  Let  the  sectional  spirit  die  out.  [Applause.]  Let 
sublime  intelligence  that  comes  like  the  sunlight  from  heaven 


432      BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

over  all  our  broad  land,  warm  the  hearts  of  the  South  and  of 
the  North  until  they  meet  in  one  common  aspiration  for  the 
good  of  the  Nation.  [Applause.]  Let  the  genius  of  the  land 
inspire  the  creative  heart  of  both  sections  to  rivalry  and  let 
arms  reside  in  the  background,  and  if  used  at  all  be  used 
against  our  foreign  foes.  Let  this  bond  of  union,  growing 
from  the  soil  and  inspired  by  the  genius  of  the  land  find  in  this 
beautiful  city  at  the  capital  of  our  common  country,  that  home, 
that  beautiful  home,  where  all  that  it  has  created  shall  be 
exhibited,  which  is  in  the  spirit  of  the  present,  because  the 
spirit  of  the  present  has  in  it  all  the  past  has  developed,  as  it 
has  also  in  it  all  the  opportunities  of  the  future  ;  and  let  that 
hall  rise  in  beautiful  proportions  and  make  in  the  beginning 
of  the  next  century  that  temple,  in  which  love  of  country, 
with  genius,  shall  preside  beneath  the  solemn  form  of  justice 
and  guarantees  of  constitutional  liberty. 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  fifth  regular  toast,  '  'American  Patents 
from  a  Financial  Standpoint,"  will  be  responded  to  by  Hon. 
Charles  Foster,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

RESPONSE   BY   HON.  CHARLES   FOSTER. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  :  I,  too,  have  my  acknowl- 
edgments to  make  to  the  Chairman  and  the  Board  of  Trade, 
for  two  reasons  ;  first,  because  I  thought  the  toast  was  one  of 
pretty  large  proportions,  but  he  relieved  me  of  that  fear  by 
preparing  the  speech  himself;  and,  secondly,  for  what  he  said 
here  to-night,  which  is  certainly  a  very  great  relief,  that  the 
Board  of  Trade  will  not  importune  me  for  an  office. 

I  hardly  know,  gentlemen,  how  to  undertake  to  respond  to 
this  toast :  ( 'American  Patents  from  a  Financial  Standpoint. ' ' 
I  think  we  all  agree,  and  I  do  not  wish  to  touch  upon  the 
domain  of  politics,  I  think  we  all  agree  that  the  protective 
principle  was  never  yet  applied  to  an  American  manufacturer 
without  a  reduction  in  price.  We  Republicans  all  claim  that, 
and  I  do  not  think  it  is  disputed  by  any  one.  How  much  the 
inventive  genius  of  this  people  have  to  do  with  it  no  one  can 
determine.  I  apprehend  that  this  great  reduction  in  prices, 
when  American  genius  takes  hold  of  a  thing,  is  due  to  the 
patent  system,  to  the  inventions  of  our  people.  If  I  were  to 
undertake  to  measure  in  dollars  and  cents  the  benefits  to  the 


BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE.      433 

people  and  to  mankind  that  have  resulted  from  inventions,  I 
am  afraid  that  I  could  not  furnish  the  figures  to  sustain  it.  But 
I  have  been  asked  to-night,  I  suppose,  to  make  a  speech  upon 
a  single  point,  and  that  is  from  a  Treasury  standpoint,  to  state 
the  receipts  and  disbursements  of  the  Government  from  this 
source.  Your  Chairman  very  kindly  furnished  me  a  memor- 
andum this  morning,  but  being  a  little  bit  suspicious  of  boards 
of  trade,  I  thought  I  would  verify  it  myself  from  the  Treasury 
figures.  It  is  but  just  to  say  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  that  his  figures  were  substantially  correct,  and  I  find  the 
facts  to  be  about  as  follows  : 

The  first  patent  law  was  passed  in  1790.  It  seemed  to  have 
been  unsatisfactory,  and  the  receipts  were  very  small,  the  total  for 
forty -six  years  up  to  1836  being  only  about  $300,000.  We 
have  no  means  now  of  ascertaining  the  expenses  during  that 
period.  The  first  favorable  patent  law  was  passed  in  1836,  and 
the  receipts  in  1836  were  $15,000  ;  expenses,  $8,000.  From 
1836  each  year  shows  a  large  increase  of  receipts  and  expendi- 
tures, until  1890,  when  the  receipts  were  $1,347,000  and  the 
expenses  about  $1,000,000,  the  annual  profit  about  $350,000  ; 
the  total  net  profits  up  to  date  about  $4,000,000. 

Now,  gentlemen,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  has  eloquently 
portrayed  the  necessity  of  a  building  in  this  city  that  shall  be 
fit  in  all  respects  to  accommodate  the  inventors  of  the  country. 
I  answer  for  the  Treasury,  and  say,  if  you  can  get  our  intelli- 
gent Congress  [laughter]  to  make  the  appropriation  I  will  see 
that  the  Treasury  foots  the  bill.  [Laughter.] 

The  CHAIRMAN.  The  sixth  regular  toast,  "Relations  of 
Patents  to  the  L,aw,"  was  to  have  been  responded  to  by  the 
Hon.  W.  H.  H.  Miller,  Attorney  General.  In  his  absence  the 
Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trade  will  read  his  response. 

LETTER   FROM   HON.   W.   H.  H.    MILLER. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trade  read  the  letter  as  follows: 

Department  of  Justice, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  April  10,  1891. 

Mr.  MYRON  M.  PARKER,  President  Washington  Board  of  Trade. 
My  Dear  Sir:  I  regret  that  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  be  with 
you  to-night  at  the  Patent  Centennial  banquet. 


434     BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

1 '  The  relation  of  patents  to  law  ' '  is  quite  the  reverse  of  their 
relations  to  almost  everything  else.  In  the  arts,  manufactures, 
agriculture,  mechanics,  trade,  and,  in  short,  in  almost  every- 
thing, patents  give  benefits.  From  the  law  they  ony  receive 
benefits.  The  old  saying  that  ' '  Necessity  is  the  mother  of 
invention  ' '  is  much  less  a  general  truth  than  formerly. 

The  law  is  the  creator  of  patents.  In  the  laboratory  of  the 
law,  thought,  ideas,  inventions  are  crystalized  into  value  and 
become  property,  and  thereby  invention  is  stimulated  and  the 
results  are  the  amazing  discoveries  and  stupendous  progress  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  The  Patent  Office  is  a  sort  of  a  free 
coinage  mint,  where  every  man's  ideas  are  coined  into  property, 
labeled  and  returned  to  him  for  use  at  whatever  the  world  will 
give  for  them.  Why  not  have  the  Government  ' '  fiat ' '  a  value 
for  each  patent,  so  that  a  seventy -cent  idea  will  go  for  a  dollar? 

The  effect  of  patents  on  the  law  is  slight.  Its  fundamental 
principles  as  to  property  rights, ' '  Thou  shalt  not  steal, "  "  Thou 
shalt  not  bear  false  witness, "  "So  use  thine  own  as  not  to  injure 
that  of  another, ' '  were  about  as  well  understood  by  Moses  and 
Solomon  as  by  Mansfield  and  Marshall,  or  the  jurists  of  West- 
minster and  Washington  to-day. 

The  applications  of  the  law,  resultant  from  inventions  and 
progress,  are  infinitely  multiplied,  but  the  principles  are  un- 
changing and  unchangeable.  Property  in  patents  is  safe- 
guarded upon  exactly  the  same  principles,  and  for  the  same 
reasons  as  property  in  potatoes,  viz  :  Natural  ownership  of  the 
results  of  individual  labor,'  whether  of  the  hand  or  head. 

But  there  is  no  property  in  the  law.  No  man  can  make  a 
discovery  and  get  a  patent  on  any  part  of  it.  No  monopoly, 
no  corner,  no  trust,  has  any  exclusive,  peculiar,  or  superior  right 
in  or  claim  on  the  law.  It  is  the  inestimable  heritage  of  all 
citizens,  as  equal  tenants  in  common,  the  expressed  conscience 
of  the  whole  people,  growing  with  their  growth,  developing 
with  their  development,  sensitive  and  vigilant,  or  dull  and  in- 
efficient, according  to  the  condition  of  public  morals. 

In  the  law  is  the  patent  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  all.  To 
the  law  all  are  amenable  for  their  conduct.  And  for  the  law 
all  are  responsible  as  its  makers.  Very  truly  yours, 

W.  H.  H.  MILLER. 

The  eleventh  regular  toast,  "American  Patents  in  the 
Army,"  was  responded  to  by  General  L,ewis  A.  Grant, 
Assistant  Secretary  of  War. 

RESPONSE    BY   GENERAL   LEWIS   A.    GRANT. 

The  War  Department  of  the  Government  does  not  deal  in 
patents,  and,  as  a  rule,  does  not  use  patented  articles. 


BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE.      435 

Many  of  the  most  important  inventions  within  the  Depart- 
ment are  not  patented,  because  they  are  not  for  general  use. 
They  are  the  implements  of  war  and  destruction,  and  the 
inventor  generally  has  blood  in  his  eye,  and  people  generally 
do  not  care  to  speculate  in  these  inventions.  The  main  effort 
of  the  Department  is  not  to  secure  patents  and  the  right  to 
use  them,  but  to  secure  exclusive  use,  as  against  foreign 
nations  ;  and  in  that,  secresy  is  sometimes  necessary.  And 
yet  the  Department  receives  great  benefit  from  the  stimulation 
to  American  genius  developed  by  our  system  of  patent  laws. 
Perhaps  no  part  of  the  Government  has  felt  their  influence 
more  potently. 

In  all  that  pertains  to  our  Government,  there  has  not  been 
more  striking  and  remarkable  improvements  within  the  last 
one  hundred  years,  or  even  in  the  last  quarter  of  a  century, 
than  in  the  arts  and  implements  of  war.  While  the  navies  of 
the  world  have  been  active  in  constructing  armor  (to  resist  the 
force  of  shots  and  projectiles),  the  Army  has  kept  along  in  its 
construction  of  guns  and  projectiles  capable  of  penetrating  or 
shattering  the  heaviest  and  strongest  armor  made. 

The  inventive  genius  of  General  Rodman,  of  the  Army, 
aided  in  improvement  and  development  by  Professor  Tredwell, 
has  given  to  American  guns  the  quality  of  strength,  resistance 
and  force  of  propulsion  heretofore  unknown.  General  Rod- 
man secured  a  patent,  but  the  principle  has  been  wrought 
upon  and  improved,  probably  far  beyond  his  expectations. 
The  strength  of  texture  and  the  resisting  power  which  has 
been  attained  is  simply  marvelous  ;  and  by  improved  projec- 
tiles and  explosives  a  power  of  propulsion  and  a  distance  of 
range  and  accuracy  of  aim  have  been  reached  not  generally 
known. 

Before  1849  our  most  powerful  gun  was  a  lo-inch  cast-iron 
smooth  bore,  which,  with  a  charge  of  fourteen  pounds  of 
powder,  would  drop  a  one  hundred  pound  ball  considerably 
within  the  well-known  marine  league.  Now  the  same  size  of 
bore,  the  lo-inch  rifled  gun,  uses  250  pounds  of  powder,  and 
hurls  a  projectile  of  575  pounds  with  about  fifteen  times  the 
force  of  the  smooth  bore  of  forty- two  years  ago.  This,  indeed, 
is  effective,  but  its  power  is  small  compared  to  the  1 6-inch 


436     BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

steel  gun,  which  explodes  one  thousand  pounds  of  powder, 
and  hurls  a  projectile  of  a  ton's  weight  with  an  initial  velocity 
of  lifting  60,000  tons  one  foot,  and  of  penetrating,  at  five 
miles  distance,  the  heaviest  and  strongest  armor  afloat. 

Very  important  indeed,  in  connection  with  these  heavy  and 
long-range  guns,  is  the  more  recent  invention  of  one  of  our 
Army  officers,  of  what  is  known  as  the  "range-finder."  By 
means  of  this  invention  the  distance  of  the  range,  the  pro- 
pulsive force  of  the  gun,  the  weight  and  shape  of  the  projectile, 
the  resistance  and  movement  of  the  air,  and  the  velocity  of  the 
vessel  or  moving  target,  are  all  taken  into  account  and 
accurately  adjusted,  so  that  the  destructive  projectile  is  hurled 
against  and  into  the  fated  target  at  a  distance  of  five  or  more 
miles  with  almost  as  much  precision  as  was  formerly  attained 
by  our  smooth  bore  muskets  at  a  distance  of  five  rods. 

The  interrupted  screw  breech  mechanism,  so  largely  used  in 
this  gun  and  generally  called  French,  was  developed  and  per- 
fected in  this  cotmtry,  and  was  in  many  essential  features 
covered  by  Chamber's  patent  in  1849. 

The  steel  wire  wound  gun,  the  inception  of  which  dates 
from  1856,  now  an  active  competitor  for  public  favor,  is  the 
invention  of  an  American,  Dr.  W.  K.  Woodbridge. 

The  recent  improvement  in  powder,  the  distinguishing  fea- 
ture of  which  is  its  slow  burning  property,  has  much  to  do  with 
the  great  force  of  propulsion  obtained  in  the  use  of  modern 
guns.  One  improvement  serves  to  increase  the  strength  of  the 
gun ;  and  the  other  to  reduce  and  control  the  strain  upon  it, 
and  both  are  largely  due  to  American  invention.  This  prop- 
erty in  the  powder  was  fully  appreciated  and  successfuly  pro- 
duced by  the  studious  investigations  of  Mordecai  and  Rodman, 
both  officers  of  the  Ordnance  Department. 

One  of  the  latest  improvements  is  the  so-called  smokeless 
powder,  which  has  already  been  adopted  in  some  degree  by 
other  countries.  But  our  inventors  have  not  been  slow  in 
entering  this  field,  and  we  already  have  several  smokeless  pow- 
ders invented  by  Americans,  among  whom  are  Maxim  and 
Houghton,  promising  great  results.  The  revolving  cannon  is 
the  result  of  the  invention  of  Hotchkiss.  The  Catling  gun, 
that  terrific  repeater,  is  known  by  all,  and  the  inventor  whose 


BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE.       437 

name  it  takes  is  probably  known  to  many  of  you.  The 
Catling  gun  is  a  revolver  while  the  Maxim  will  deliver  hun- 
dreds of  shots  per  minute  from  a  single  bore. 

But  it  is  not  upon  the  large  guns  alone  that  we  rely  for 
military  operations  of  aggression  and  defense.  These  require 
heavy  and  intricate  machinery  for  handling,  and  their  use,  and 
firing  is  necessarily  slow  ;  while  the  smaller  guns  can  be 
handled  with  more  ease  and  fired  with  greater  rapidity,  and 
the  result  is  more  destructive  than  that  of  the  larger  guns, 
although  not  at  so  great  a  distance.  The  condition  and  effi- 
ciency of  American  arms,  and  the  machinery  and  skill  used  in 
handling  them,  may  well  invite  an  assailant  to  closer  quarters. 

Within  the  last  few  days,  much  has  been  said  about  the  pow- 
erful navy  and  the  heavy  guns  of  a  Kuropean  nation,  and  fear 
has  been  expressed  that  such  heavy  armament  might  enter  the 
harbor  of  some  of  our  larger  cities.  So  far  as  the  Army  is 
concerned,  we  would  gladly  let  them  come.  Let  them  come  in 
if  they  want  to  ;  they  would  go  no  more  out  forever. 

So  perfectly  and  effectively  has  the  work  of  destruction  been 
planned  and  carried  out,  that  within  a  surprisingly  short  time 
there  can  be  placed  beneath  the  waters'  surface  an  indefinite 
number  of  destructive  explosives  ;  and  those  can  be  so  arranged 
that  vessels  passing  over  them  will  cause  explosion  and  their 
own  ruin.  Or  they  may  be  so  arranged  that  vessels  may  pass 
over  them  unharmed,  and  arrange  themselves  in  line  of  battle 
ready  for  attack  ;  and  then  by  a  simple  touch  on  the  shore — 
it  may  be  from  the  hand  of  a  small  child — there  will  come 
instantaneous  explosions  all  along  the  line,  sufficient  to  destroy 
in  an  instant  of  time  the  largest  fleet  finding  room  in  one  of 
our  harbors. 

There  is  also  ready  and  waiting  for  any  foreign  invader  the 
pneumatic  dynamite  torpedo  gun,  wholly  an  American  inven- 
tion, largely  due  to  Mr.  Mefford,  but  Captain  Zalinski  is 
entitled  to  much  credit  in  its  development.  "It  is  a  veritable 
innovation,  in  that  compressed  air  is  used  in  place  of  gun 
powder  to  propel  the  projectile,  charged  with  high  explosives." 
It  is  capable  of  hurling  a  tremendous  mass  of  dynamite  through 
the  air  and  against  a  vessel,  causing  its  complete  destruction. 

Again,  if  the  work  of  destruction  is  not  already  complete,  we 
will  plant  on  shore  in  safe  positions  groups  of  mortars,  sixteen 


438     BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

forming  a  group,  from  which  the  most  destructive  explosives 
can  be  at  once  hurled  high  in  the  air ;  and  so  nicely  is  the 
propulsive  force,  distance  of  range,  and  other  considerations 
taken  into  calculation,  that  they  may  be  made  to  drop  with 
wonderful  accuracy  upon  the  offending  vessel.  It  will  do  more 
than  pierce  the  joints  of  the  vessel's  armor ;  these  huge  and 
destructive  missiles  will  drop  upon  the  upper  deck,  penetrate 
the  ship,  explode  and  destroy  it. 

These  things  are  not  mere  theories  in  the  minds  of  American 
inventors  ;  nor  do  they  exist  simply  in  the  models  in  the  Patent 
Office,  but  they  exist  in  terrible  reality,  and  any  nation  beliger- 
ently  inclined  is  respectfully  invited  to  test  them. 

The  improvement  in  small  arms  and  all  the  paraphernalia  of 
war  has  not  been  less  marked,  and  the  American  inventors  hold 
a  conspicuous  place.  Our  machinery  for  manufacturing  is  of 
the  latest  and  most  improved  kind.  ' '  We  were  early  in  the  field 
to  substitute  machinery  for  hand- work,  and  the  first  to  perfect 
the  machinery  for  making  any  number  of  parts  of  different  arms 
to  be  assembled  at  will. ' ' 

The  superiority  of  our  small-arms  cartridge  manufacturing 
has  been  equally  well  marked,  and  the  machinery  for  this, 
which  was  devised  at  the  Frankfort  Arsenal  in  1886  by  J.  G. 
Gill,  the  master  mechanic,  is  a  model  of  excellence. 

The  present  service  rifle  is  the  Springfield  single  breech- 
loader, a  weapon  which  has  proved  most  valuable  in  our  frontier 
service,  and  one  which  it  will  be  difficult  to  replace.  But  the 
small  bore  magazine  rifle  is  attracting  great  attention,  and 
repeated  and  successful  experiments  are  now  being  made  with  it. 

But  it  is  not  in  guns  and  arms  and  munitions  of  war  alone  in 
which  we  excel,  or  upon  which  we  depend.  Almost  every 
invention  within  the  range  of  human  skill  is  utilized  in  some 
way  for  the  purposes  of  the  Army.  The  horse  and  the  mule 
and  the  army  wagon  are  used  in  their  place  for  purposes  of 
transportation,  but  the  best  and  fastest  steamboats,  and  all  the 
constructions  and  appliances  of  railroads  are  used  in  the  trans- 
portation of  troops  and  supplies,  and  in  the  concentration  of 
forces.  The  telegraph  and  the  telephone  are  used  in  the  trans- 
mission of  orders  and  information.  Signals  and  balloons,  and 
all  the  devices  of  aerial  navigation  are  utilized  to  obtain  bird's 


BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE.     439 

eye  views  of  the  enemy's  camp,  and  in  watching  his  move- 
ments. And  by  means  of  the  photographer's  art  the  exact 
condition  of  the  enemy  and  his  defenses  are  caught  by  the  rays 
of  the  shining  sun,  transmitted  to  paper,  and  laid  before  the 
Commander  of  an  Army  for  his  information  and  inspection . 

With  the  best  of  guns  and  small  arms,  and  all  the  equip- 
ments of  war,  with  all  the  appliances  and  inventions  for  moving 
troops,  and  so  concentrating  armies  with  an  effective  force  of 
more  than  three  millions  of  stalwart  men,  ready  for  the  field, 
sustained  and  supported  by  more  than  sixty  million  of  loyal 
hearts — among  whom  are  the  mothers  and  daughters  of  the 
nation — our  Army  is  invincible  to  any  force  that  can  be  brought 
against  it.  The  American  standard  is  full  high  advanced,  and 
forcibly  sustained.  With  the  increasing  .strength  of  our  Navy 
and  maritime  commerce,  our  flag  shall  not  only  proudly  wave 
over  all  our  land,  but  it  shall  spread  its  ample  folds  in  evety 
commercial  port  of  the  globe. 

The  thirteenth  regular  toast,  "American  Patents  in  the 
Navy,"  was  responded  to  by  Hon.  J.  R.  Soley,  Assistant  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy. 

RESPONSE  BY  HONORABLE  J.  R.  SOI<EY. 

It  is  no  small  satisfaction  in  rising  before  an  assemblage  that 
represents  the  advance  guard  of  technical  science  in  America, 
to  speak  in  behalf  of  an  establishment  whose  highest  aim  and 
most  earnest  effort  are  to  keep  in  the  forefront  of  scientific  and 
mechanical  progress.  Nine  years  ago  the  Navy  of  the  United 
States  was  composed  of  a  collection  of  rapidly  decaying  wooden 
ships,  propelled  by  antiquated  engines,  and  armed  with 
smooth-bore  guns.  So  far  from  advancing,  its  condition  since 
the  war  had  been  one  of  steady  deterioration.  Its  vessels  and 
its  guns  were  a  subject  of  derision  at  home  and  of  contempt 
abroad.  To-day  the  Department  is  engaged  in  the  building 
of  twenty-five  modern  steel  ships,  three  of  them  battle-ships 
of  10,000  tons  displacement,  and  two  more  will  shortly  be 
added  to  the  list.  In  these  vessels  every  device  has  been 
put  that  the  inventive  ingenuity  of  the  age  could  suggest. 
The  triple-expansion  engine,  the  dynamo,  the  sub-divided 
structure  and  double-bottom,  the  modern  pneumatic  and  hy- 


44°      BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

draulic  appliances,  the  multitude  of  contrivances  for  propulsion, 
for  distillation,  for  steering,  for  ventilation,  for  hoisting,  for 
defense  against  projectiles,  for  excluding  the  dangerous  inrush 
of  water,  for  increasing  the  efficiency  of  the  armament,  have 
made  the  modern  war-ship,  with  her  machinery,  and  her  main 
and  secondary  batteries,  a  structure  so  complex  and  so  diversi- 
fied in  its  innumerable  details  as  to  call  for  the  application 
of  inventive  skill  in  nearly  every  department  of  mechanical 
science. 

Back  of  all  this  lies  the  vast  advance  which  recent  years 
have  shown  in  the  materials  of  construction,  in  the  steel 
itself  by  means  of  improved  tools,  improved  processes  of 
manufacture,  improved  combination  of  elements,  fin  frames 
and  plates,  in  castings,  in  armor,  in  gun  forgings.  When 
the  high  and  exacting  requirements  of  the  Navy  Department 
in  the  quality  of  steel  which  it  called  for  were  first  made 
known,  it  was  doubtful  if  the  manufacturers  could  furnish  it ; 
but  the  mechanical  skill  of  the  country  showed  itself  equal 
to  the  demand,  and  the  result  has  been  a  product  which  has 
no  superior  in  the  world.  The  progress  less  marked  in  materials 
and  in  mechanical  devices,  stupendous  as  it  has  been  during 
the  last  few  years,  seems  to  be  without  bounds  or  limits  that 
man  can  fix.  Truly  it  may  be  said  that  in  the  field  of  the 
inventor  or  working  with  the  applications  of  naval  science, 
there  are  no  horizons. 

It  is  in  this  vast  field  of  mechanical"1  enterprise  that  the 
bureaus  of  the  Navy  Department  are  now  at  work  ;  and  such 
has  been  their  success  that  we  have  to-day  a  fleet,  built  or 
building,  which  though  small  numerically,  is  unsurpassed  in 
the  types  of  which  it  is  composed,  ship  for  ship,  by  any  navy 
in  the  world  ;  and  it  is  a  fleet  constructed  of  American  material, 
built  by  American  labor,  and  embodying  in  its  design  the 
genius  of  American  invention. 

I  cannot  help  quoting  here,  although  public  notice  has  already 
been  taken  of  them,  the  remarks  of  Mr.  J.  H.  Biles,  the  emi- 
nent English  naval  architect,  in  his  paper  read  four  weeks  ago 
before  the  Institute  of  Naval  Architects,  where  he  says  of  our 
new  battle-ships  :  ' '  They  are  distinctly  superior  in  most  re- 
spects to  any  European  vessels  of  the  same  displacement,  and 


BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE.     441 

for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  American  coast-line  they  seem 
to  be  quite  a  match  for  any  ships  afloat. ' ' 

From  the  time  when  David  Bushnell  devised,  and  Robert 
Fulton  developed  the  torpedo  ;  when  Fulton  again  applied  the 
steam-engine  to  navigation  ;  when  Kricsson,  a  fellow-citizen  by 
adoption,  went  a  step  further,  and  invented  the  screw  pro- 
peller ;  when  the  same  Ericsson,  following  in  the  footsteps  of 
Timby,  applied  the  movable  turret  to  armored  ship  construc- 
tion— down  to  the  time  of  Dahlgren,  Parrett,  Hotchkiss,  and 
others  of  equal  or  greater  eminence  who  are  present  here  to- 
night— naval  architecture  has  been  under  a  heavy  debt  to  the 
inventor  of  this  country.  The  patent  laws  give  security  to  the 
property  of  the  inventor ;  but  it  is  a  problem  above  and  be- 
yond law  to  give  security  to  the  wealth  and  prosperity,  indi- 
vidual and  national,  with  which  the  community  has  been 
endowed  by  the  inventive  skill  of  its  citizens. 

The  nation  that  grows  rich  and  prosperous  excites  the  envy 
of  its  rivals.  It  must  provide  for  its  defense.  It  is  for  this 
purpose  that  the  Navy  exists,  and  it  is  this  work  that  its  offi- 
cers, if  we  will  only  give  them  the  right  weapons  and  plenty 
of  them,  stand  ready  to  accomplish.  The  country  which,  by 
the  hands  of  its  inventors,  has  thus  cast  its  bread  upon  the 
waters  will  then  find  it  returning  after  many  days ;  and  the 
debt  which  the  navy  is  under  to  the  mechanical  skill  of 
America,  it  will  repay  four-fold  by  the  security  and  protection 
it  affords  to  the  fruits  of  American  labor. 

The  fifteenth  regular  toast,  ' '  American  Patents  in  the  Postal 
Service,"  was  responded  to  by  the  Hon.  S.  A.  Whitfield,  First 
Assistant  Postmaster-General. 

RESPONSE   BY   HONORABLE   S.    A.    WHITFIEWX 

Swift  once  defined  invention  as  being  the  talent  of  youth  and 
the  judgment  of  age.  If  this  definition  is  accepted  as  correct 
it  will  be  conceded,  I  think,  that  the  talent  of  this  country  is 
in  that  particular  precocious  to  a  degree  absolutely  unprece- 
dented, or  else  it  has  attained  the  judgment  of  age  at  a  period 
when,  according  to  comparative  chronology,  it  should  be  barely 
on  the  threshold  of  early  manhood.  We  have  here,  perhaps, 
the  best  illustration  of  the  maxim  that  ' '  Those  who  are  least 


442      BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

governed  are  best  governed;"  and,  in  fact,  the  touch  of  the 
government  is  so  light  that  in  most  localities  the  only  tangible, 
visible  evidence  of  its  existence  is  found  in  the  various  ramifi- 
cations of  the  postal  service.  I  do  not,  therefore,  draw 
invidious  distinctions  between  departments  when  I  claim  that 
the  one  I  have  the  honor  to  represent  here  to-night  is  the  most 
notable  beneficiary  of  American  inventive  genius.  It  is  because 
this  service  has  come  home  to  every  nook  and  corner  of  our 
land,  that  we  are  able  to  say  that  in  a  domain  of  practical 
human  achievements  we  have  benefited  most  because  we  have 
presented  most  opportunities  and  most  direct  association. 

In  one  great  branch  of  the  department,  the  Contract  Office, 
we  occupy  a  position  perhaps  unique  in  the  history  of 
mechanical  appliances.  We  not  only  invite  competition  by 
public  advertisement,  but  for  the  protection  of  the  Govern- 
ment we  reject  articles  not  actually  patented.  In  fact,  so 
numerous  have  become  the  patented  articles  in  use  in  the 
postal  service  that  a  separate  clause  is  inserted  in  all  contracts 
requiring  parties  supplying  the  various  equipment  to  furnish  a 
bond  protecting  the  Government  from  possibility  of  damages 
growing  out  of  infringement.  No  better  object  lesson  could 
be  offered  the  student  of  mechanical  invention  than  would  be 
afforded  by  a  study  of  the  splendid  rotary  registry  lock  in 
use  to-day  in  securing  packages  filled  with  valuable  matter  or 
passing  between  our  great  commercial  centres,  and  the  one  in 
use  even  at  a  period  as  late  as  1880.  L,osses  under  the  former, 
though  inconsiderable,  reached  a  respectable  percentage, 
while  under  the  latter  they  have  grown  so  small  as  to  be  almost 
incapable  of  mathematical  calculation.  In  fact,  the  unfor- 
tunate thief  is  now  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  stealing  the 
whole  pouch.  It  is  a  physical  impossibility  for  him  to  get 
into  it  and  conceal  the  evidence  of  his  crime.  A  short  time 
ago  the  Department  found  that  it  had  in  its  possession  more 
than  250,000  mail  locks,  for  which  it  was  offered  the  magnifi- 
cent sum  of  twenty  cents  a  hundred  pounds.  These  locks  had 
cost  the  Government  fifty-seven  cents  each.  They  could  not 
be  used  at  this  time  without  a  change  of  keys  and  combina- 
tions. As  usual  in  this  country,  the  occasion  produced 
demand ;  and  with  a  single  blow  of  the  die,  and  at  a  cost  of 


BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE.     443 

about  five  cents  each,  every  one  of  these  250,000  will  be  made 
available  for  service,  and  a  most  excellent  lock  restored  to  use. 

I  could  more  easily  and  quickly  enumerate  what  would  be 
left  in  the  service  were  the  fruit  of  American  ingenuity  with- 
drawn, than  I  could  give  you  a  list  of  useful  patents  now  in 
use.  We  begin  with  locks  of  all  descriptions  and  run  the  gamut 
through  the  long  scale  of  mail  pouches  and  fastenings  of  all 
descriptions,  bag  racks,  mail-bag  catches,  stamping  pads,  lock 
boxes,  and  keys,  and  soon  down  to  the  latest  and  perhaps  most 
notable  invention  of  stamping-machines  for  cancellation  of 
stamps  and  back  stamping  of  letters.  Three  samples  of  these 
machines  are  now  in  use  at  the  Washington  office,  and  would 
well  repay  a  visit  of  inspection.  One  of  them  recently  can- 
celled, under  the  supervision  of  the  board  of  our  own  officers 
convened  in  the  city  of  New  York,  14,615  pieces  of  unassorted 
miscellaneous  mail  matter  in  thirty  minutes,  and  others  have 
attained  a  speed  of  from  seven  thousand  to  nine  thousand  in 
the  same  time.  Thus,  while  each  machine  relieves  for  other 
useful  work  from  four  to  six  men  previously  employed  in 
stamping  letters  by  hand,  it  performs  the  still  more  important 
function  of  shortening  radically  the  time  that  elapses  between 
the  receipt  of  the  letter  at  the  central  office  and  its  delivery  to 
the  addressee. 

The  high  rate  of  speed  attained  by  the  trains  on  our  main 
trunk  roads  leaves  little  room  for  shortening  the  time  actually 
consumed  in  the  transportation  of  mails  between  our  great 
cities.  The  latest  and  most  troublesome  problem  is  to  over- 
come the  difficulties  attendant  upon  the  distances  between 
the  central  offices  and  outlying  stations,  consequent  upon 
the  thronged  condition  of  the  streets  in  all  our  business 
centers.  The  attention  of  the  Postmaster-General  has  been 
especially  directed  to  the  loss  of  time  experienced  there,  and 
at  an  early  date  we  design  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  agency  of 
pneumatic  tubes,  at  least  experimentally  in  this  work.  If  this 
shall  prove  a  success,  it  is  believed  that  the  difficulties  imposed 
by  time  and  space  are  as  nearly  overcome  as  it  is  possible  for 
mere  human  agencies  to  accomplish.  Recent  advances  in 
telegraphy  and  improved  methods  in  all  branches  of  this  great 
system  have  led  the  Department  to  desire  to  avail  itself  of  them 


444      BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

to  an  extent  not  possible  under  the  limitations  of  the  existing 
contract. 

As  a  brief  and  final  illustration  of  the  prolific  genius  of  our 
inventors,  it  may  be  interesting  to  know  that  under  a  recent 
advertisement  issued  by  the  Postmaster-General  for  private 
letter  boxes  to  be  used  by  individuals  and  firms,  577  models 
and  designs  were  presented  to  the  Board  convened  in  Wash- 
ington City,  to  which  may  be  added  about  200  communications 
containing  suggestions  more  or  less  valuable.  There  are  to-day 
in  the  Post-Office  Department,  awaiting  the  action  of  a  Com- 
mission soon  to  be  appointed,  more  than  a  hundred  designs  for 
improving  the  mode  of  closing  the  present  leather  mail  pouch 
now  in  use.  It  is  no  longer  a  question  of  finding  something 
suitable  for  the  wants  of  the  Government,  but  rather  one  of 
deciding,  among  so  many  excellent  designs,  which  is  the  most 
excellent. 

The  seventeenth  regular  toast,  ' '  American  Patents  at  the 
World's  Exposition,"  was  responded  to  by  Hon.  Benjamin 
Butterworth,  secretary  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition. 

RESPONSE   BY   HON.    BENJAMIN   BUTTERWORTH. 

Mr.  Chairman  :  It  is  now  after  two  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and  if  I  were  the  sworn  enemy  of  each  one  of  you,  I  do  not 
think  I  could  have  the  heart  to  detain  you  here  to  make  a 
speech.  Even  if  I  were  disposed  to  make  one,  you  would  not 
be  disposed  to  listen  to  it.  What  I  had  contemplated  saying  I 
will  use  in  response  to  another  toast  at  another  centennial  on 
some  other  occasion.  If  I  draw  these  papers  on  you,  I  trust 
you  will  not  feel  disturbed.  It  is  only  for  the  purpose  of 
stating  what  I  desire  to  omit,  not  what  I  propose  to  say. 

You  have  swept  the  whole  horizon  in  respect  to  patents,  both 
those  which  are  utilized  in  peace  and  those  which  are  available 
in  war.  I  am  asked  to  say  something  with  regard  to  American 
patents  at  the  centennial.  The  truth  is,  I  might  as  well  try  to 
give  you  an  account  of  all  creation,  and  there  will  not  be  any- 
thing there  that  has  not  some  relation  to  our  American  patent 
system. 

If  you  will  hear  me  for  one  single  moment,  I  desire  before 
I  refer  to  that  to  show  what  the  opportunities  there  are,  and 


BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE.     445 

what  they  will  be  for  exhibiting  everything  that  pertains  to  the 
American  patent  system,  and  all  other  things  of  interest.  We 
may  well  take  pride  in  this  great  enterprise.  We  may  well 
take  pride  in  that  aggressive  spirit  of  the  great  West  which  has 
contributed  more  to  the  enterprise  than  any  city  or  State  or 
nation  has  ever  heretofore  contributed.  It  is  true,  my  own 
desire  was  that  this  great  enterprise  should  be  held  at  Wash- 
ington City,  and  it  was  fit  and  proper  that  it  should  be  so  held. 
Other  persons  desired  that  it  should  be  held  in  New  York. 
But  our  people  are  becoming  a  little  anxious  as  the  course  of 
empire  takes  its  way  westward,  that  those  beyond  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  those  in  the  interior,  should  have  a  chance.  The 
people  of  the  country  desire  to  turn  the  Federal  cow  around. 
She  has  had  her  head  on  the  other  side  of  the  Alleghanies,  but 
her  udders  have  been  stripped  on  this  side.  It  was  determined 
to  turn  the  animal  around,  so  that  she  can  now  be  fed  east  of 
the  Alleghanies  and  the  lacteal  food  will  be  poured  out  upon 
the  West. 

It  has  been  decided  that  this  great  exposition  shall  be  held 
at  Chicago.  It  has  met  with  the  most  generous,  warm-hearted 
support  from  every  quarter  of  Europe.  I  desire  to  call  your 
attention  for  but  a  moment  to  the  opportunities  for  exhibition 
that  will  present  themselves  there.  Chicago  is  a  city  of  over 
eleven  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  inhabited  by  the  most 
enterprising  people  in  the  world.  From  the  boot-black  to  the 
mayor,  each  one  believes  that  Chicago  was  foreordained  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world  to  be  the  metropolitan  city  of  the 
continent,  and  in  this  belief  they  work  according  to  their  faith, 
and  their  works  have  justified  their  faith. 

There  can  be  no  more  conclusive  fact  that  they  intend  to 
make  the  exposition  the  event  of  the  nineteenth  century,  than 
that  they  have  pledged  to  this  enterprise  $17,000,000, 
$12,000,000  of  which  they  have  already  raised.  The  great 
State  of  Illinois,  one  of  the  youngest  of  the  sisterhood  of  States, 
carved  out  of  this  great  Northwestern  territory,  will  add 
$1,000,000.  Some  twenty  States  of  the  Union  have  already 
appropriated  $1,500,000  and  the  other  twenty  odd  States  will 
follow  that  with  more  than  $2,000,000  ;  in  addition  the  Gen- 
eral Government  has  appropriated  $1,500,000  making  in  all 


446      BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

$25,000,000  appropriated  to  offer  conveniences  for  the  taking 
account  of  the  stock  of  our  civilization  and  to  ascertain  what 
we  have  done  during  the  last  century  that  shall  go  down 
through  all  the  centuries. 

I  have  been  in  Chicago  a  little  while,  long  enough  to  take  on 
that  natural  reticence  and  diffidence  which  is  characteristic  of 
that  people  in  speaking  about  what  they  are  about  to  accom- 
plish. [Daughter.]  Now  as  to  the  site  selected.  It  lies  front- 
ing the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  embracing  as  handsome 
parks  as  can  be  found  on  either  continent.  The  number  of 
acres  to  be  covered  by  the  main  buildings  to  be  constructed  for 
the  purposes  of  the  exposition  will  be  double  that  of  any  ever 
held.  The  greatest  floor  space  provided  by  any  previous  ex- 
position was  at  Paris  in  1889,  which  contained  a  trifle  over 
seventy-five  acres.  The  floor  space  that  will  be  covered  by  the 
main  buildings  at  Chicago  will  be  over  1 50  acres.  The  area 
demoted  to  the  exposition  will  contain  a  thousand  acres,  with 
five  or  six  acres  adjacent  for  overflow.  Those  who  have  ex- 
amined the  plans  for  the  buildings,  and  who  are  experts,  assert 
that  they  have  never  been  surpassed  in  architectural  beauty 
and  in  adaptability  to  the  purposes  intended.  Every  single  foot 
of  this  space  will  be  utilized  to  show  what  the  genius  of  man 
has  planned  during  the  last  few  centuries  and  that  which  will 
be  worthiest  of  use,  and  about  which  you  will  linger  longest, 
which  has  done  most  for  our  civilization,  most  to  bring  us 
peace  and  make  it  permanent  wTill  be  that  which  is  due  to  the 
ingenious  inventors  of  the  last  fifty  years  !  [Applause.] 

I  am  asked  what  will  be  seen  there  ?  Now  the  patent  sys- 
tem is  related  to  the  fair.  How  is  the  patent  system  related 
to  civilization  ?  The  civilization  of  my  country  would  not  have 
passed  the  Indian  line  up  to  this,  1891,  but  for  the  inventive 
genius  of  my  countrymen,  and  the  American  patent  system, 
which  was  the  first  really  formulated  and  made  practicable 
by  a  nation. 

As  I  said  to-day,  nations  have  been  carved  out  upon  the 
field  of  battle  and  planned  in  the  council  chamber  ;  but  never 
until  the  founding  of  a  free  government  in  this  country  did  it 
occur  to  man  to  encourage  inventors  and  authors  as  public 
benefactors. 


BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE.      447 

How  will  the  American  patent  system  show  itself  there,  or 
in  other  words,  how  will  invention  find  expression  there  ? 
What  is  invention  in  its  broadest  and  best  sense  ?  It  is  the  ap- 
plication of  ideas  to  the  needs  of  man,  no  matter  whether  the 
idea  find  expression  in  a  spoon  or  an  engine  or  a  sewing  ma- 
chine, in  the  telegraph  or  in  the  ten  thousand  inventions  less 
consequential  in  their  separate  significance.  The  author  is  an 
inventor,  although  he  may  deal  with  a  different  class  of  sub- 
jects than  those  which  find  expression  in  material  things. 

So  far  as  the  material  world  is  concerned,  there  is  not  a  lab- 
oratory in  the  world  that  has  produced  anything  worthy  of  use 
that  will  not  be  seen  in  Chicago.  There  is  not  a  shop  which 
has  produced  a  contrivance  or  device  so  interesting  or  so  useful 
as  to  attract  and  deserve  the  consideration  of  men  that  will  not 
be  seen  at  Chicago. 

In  other  words,  all  the  classes  of  industrial  wealth  will  con- 
tribute. The  arts  will  be  represented  there  by  their  best  pro- 
ductions. The  applied  and  occult  sciences  will  contribute  their 
share  to  the  exhibition.  But  there  has  been  organized  in  con- 
nection with  this  great  enterprise,  that  which  in  my  judgment 
is  of  equal,  if  not  higher  consequence  than  things  material. 
Things  material  may  fall,  but  words,  principles,  ideas  which 
find  expression  in  books  and  records  will  last  and  go  down 
through  the  centuries  and  outlive  possibly  this  crumbling 
republic. 

We  have  provided  in  the  exposition  for  a  world's  congress 
to  deal  with  ideas.  In  other  words,  in  order  that  we  may  have 
the  benefit  of  ripened  thoughts  gathered  from  the  40  centuries, 
there  will  be  gathered  together  the  wisdom  and  wise  men  of 
our  times  from  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  to  deal  with  all  sub- 
jects ;  to  deal  with  economic  questions,  and  those  principles 
that  require  an  early  solution.  We  cannot  be  blinded  to  the 
fact  that  there  are  great  questions — social,  economic  and  politi- 
cal— which  must  be  settled  in  the  arena  of  investigation  and 
free  discussion,  or  at  an  early  day  they  may  refer  themselves 
to  the  glread  arbitrament  of  battle.  It  is  in  order  that  the  great 
minds  of  the  world,  the  great  thinkers  and  the  great  writers 
may  meet  there  that  we  have  provided  for  this  world's  con- 
gress. 


448      BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

My  honored  friend  upon  my  right  has  spoken  to  me  about 
the  absolute  failure  upon  this  continent,  if  not  throughout  the 
world,  of  municipal  government.  They  are  a  complete,  abject 
pitiable  failure,  but  that  we  are  a  generous  people,  and  stand 
bleeding  freely,  we  would  have  rebelled  against  them  long  ago. 
The  men  who  have  given  this  subject  the  most  attention  will 
be  heard  in  Chicago. 

There  is  a  question  as  to  whether  the  time  has  not  come 
when  we  may  put  aside  the  munitions  of  war  and  refer  the 
disputes  between  nations  not*  to  the  arbitrament  of  battle,  but 
to  arbitration.  The  men  who  have  given  this  subject  careful 
consideration  will  also  be  in  Chicago. 

There  are  questions  touching  the  coinage  ;  questions  touch- 
ing our  economic  system  of  supply  and  demand,  and  the  rela- 
tion between  the  methods  of  getting  supplies  from  points  of 
production  to  points  of  consumption.  All  these  questions 
will  be  considered  in  these  several  congresses.  My  honored 
friend  upon  my  left,  Archbishop  Ireland,  is  entirely  in  charge 
of  one  of  these  departments.  I  would  like  to  hear  from  him 
for  a  few  moments  touching  the  possibilities  that  await  us  there. 
We  have  already  had  responses  from  England,  from  France, 
from  Belgium,  from  Austria,  from  Russia  and  from  Brazil. 
The  great  thinkers  in  each  one  of  these  countries  have  signi- 
fied their  willingness  and  their  desire  to  meet  the  thinkers  and 
writers  of  this  country.  They  realize  that  a  time  is  rapidly 
approaching  when  drums  will  be  muffled  and  battle-flags  furled 
in  that  parliament  of  human  confederation. 

All  the  nations  of  the  world  will  be  there.  There  is  not 
to-day  a  race  of  people  where  the  agents  of  the  World's  Colum- 
bian Exposition  are  not  visiting.  England  will  be  there,  re- 
joicing in  the  great  prosperity  that  has  waited  upon  the  children 
of  her  loins.  The  Fatherland  will  be  there,  delighted  with  the 
prosperity  that  has  waited  upon  her  children.  France  will  be 
there,  our  old  ally,  and  Italy  will  be  there — yes,  Italy  will  be 
there.  If  she  comes  in  a  belligerent  spirit,  we  will  read  to 
her  the  address  of  Secretary  Grant  and  let  her  know  that  it 
will  not  do  for  her  to  come  within  our  border  with  such  a  spirit. 
Italy  will  be  there,  and  she  will  find  that  in  the  integrity  of  our 


BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE.     449 

people  her  Sicilians  will  be  as  safe  in  the  streets  of  Chicago  as 
they  are  under  the  shadow  of  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's  in  Rome. 

But  above  all,  the  possibilities  of  our  own  country  will  be 
represented  there.  Emerson  said,  "The  United  States "  is  but 
another  name  for  opportunities.  It  will  be  realized  there  fully. 
In  the  intermingling  of  one  nation  with  another  the  United 
States  is  nearer  to  Austria  to-day  than  the  State  of  New  York 
was  to  Ohio  a  century  ago  ;  so  that  after  all  we  are  neighbors. 

I  am  not  putting  it  too  strongly  when  I  say  it  is  not  at  all  im- 
probable that  by  the  time  the  exposition  is  under  way,  we  can 
go  from  Chicago  down  to  the  exposition  through  the  air.  You 
say  that  is  strong,  but  it  is  not.  It  is  now  within  sight,  and  I 
will  promise  you  that  you  will  go  the  seven  miles  in  six  minutes 
with  perfect  comfort.  I  know  our  European  friends  imagine 
that  when  they  pass  200  miles  west  of  New  York  they  are  in 
danger  of  being  scalped  with  tomahawks  by  the  Indians,  but 
we  can  assure  our  brothers  that  when  they  go  to  Chicago  from 
Baltimore,  Philadelphia  or  New  York  they  can  be  carried  in 
palaces  upon  wheels  and  be  as  comfortable  as  they  would  be  in 
their  own  parlors,  and  there  see  a  city  the  people  of  which  are 
unsurpassed  for  pluck  and  energy,  and  a  city  which  is  itself 
worth  a  trip  across  two  oceans  to  visit. 

What  there  is  worth  seeing  there  will  be  due  in  a  large 
measure  to  the  benefits  derived  from  the  patent  system,  which 
simply  says  that  every  man  who  contributes  to  the  well-being 
of  society  shall  have  this  reward. 

My  honored  friend,  Mr.  Noble,  said  that  it  was  not  love  of 
gold  that  prompts  the  inventive  genius.  Well,  "maybe  it 
aint,"  but  my  experience  and  observation  alike  are  that  'the 
inventor  keeps  an  eye  partially  and  singly  to  glory,  but  it  is 
largely  centered  on  his  pocket,  and  I  would  not  respect  him  if 
it  were  not  so. 

As  my  honored  friend,  Mr.  Mitchell,  has  said,  a  man  who 
saves  to  you  a  dollar  is  entitled  to  a  percentage  for  saving  it. 
A  man  who  reaps  for  you  a  harvest  at  $50  that  cost  $100  ten 
years  ago,  or  would  now  cost  you  $100  without  his  invention, 
is  entitled  to  a  fraction  for  saving  it.  The  man  who  blesses 
the  community  and  saves  it  millions  of  dollars  is  entitled  to 
dividends  for  his  effort,  and  what  has  made  the  young  republic 


45°     BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

the  first  nation  in  the  world  is  the  fact  that  every  worthy  noble 
action  has  its  reward. 

We  do  not  patent  anything  that  is  worthless.  The  measure 
of  patentability  is  that  it  shall  involve  the  exercise  of  that  god- 
like attribute  of  genius  and  invention  ;  next,  that  it  shall  be 
useful ;  and  third,  that  it  shall  be  novel.  Where  these  three 
elements  contribute  to  the  welfare  and  convenience  of  men,  we 
have  provided,  or  our  fathers  provided  before  us — and  they 
builded  better  than  they  knew — that  the  men  who  thus  con- 
tributed to  the  well-being  of  society  should  have  his  reward, 
and  the  amount  of  that  reward  should  be  the  excellence  of  the 
invention  and  the  amount  which  he  contributed  to  the  well- 
being  of  those  who  seek  to  use  that  which  he  has  given  them. 

Now,  gentlemen,  I  want  to  congratulate  you  upon  the  suc- 
cess of  this  convention.  I  wish  our  people  knew  how  much 
they  owe  to  the  patent  system,  to  the  thinkers,  writers  and 
inventors  of  this  country.  A  great  many  people  think  it  is  an 
easy  thing  and  that  there  is  no  trouble  in  an  invention.  They 
think  it  is  easy  to  think.  As  I  said  before,  very  few  of  those 
who  talk  that  way  ever  tried  to  think  or  ever  made  a  success 
of  it  if  they  did.  There  is  nothing  harder  in  the  world  than 
earnest  thinking,  and  as  the  result  of  that  earnest  thinking 
the  blessings  to  which  I  have  referred  have  come  to  us. 

I  will  say,  in  conclusion,  that  if  you  will  come  to  Chicago, 
you  will  realize  what  has  been  accomplished  during  the  last 
few  decades,  what  is  now  being  accomplished  in  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  and  how  much  is  being  contributed  from  every 
locality  to  add  to  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  mankind. 
[Applause.] 

Mr.  PARKER.  Before  we  adjourn  I  desire  to  call  attention 
to  the  fact  that  we  have  with  us  to-night  Hon.  Richard  Pope, 
Commissioner  of  Patents  for  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and  we 
would  like  to  hear  a  word  from  him. 

Mr.  POPE.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  :  It  is  too  late,  or, 
I  should  rather  say,  too  early  in  the  morning  for  me  to  make 
a  speech,  and  I  think  it  would  be  undesirable  upon  my  part 
that  I  should  inflict  another  one  upon  you.  I  doubt  very  much, 
also,  whether  you  would  allow  me  to  do  so  even  if  I  desired. 

But,  gentlemen,  I  feel  that  I  must  express  to  you  my  sin- 
cere thanks  on  behalf  of  the  Canadian  Patent  Office,  which  I 


BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE.     451 

have  the  honor  to  represent.  I  feel  that  you  have  conferred 
upon  us  an  honor  in  the  invitation  which  has  been  extended 
to  us,  which  has  only  been  equalled  by  our  participation  in 
the  magnificent  celebration  of  the  Centennial  of  the  Patent 
System  of  the  United  States. 

The  design  here  has  been  to  pay  homage  to  human  inven- 
tion and  progress  in  the  arts  and  sciences  useful  to  man  and 
essential  to  modern  material  prosperity  and  wealth. 

I  feel,  gentlemen,  that  the  inventor,  filled  with  a  desire  to 
put  into  practical  effect  the  evolution  of  his  inventive  brain, 
little  knows,  or  perhaps  stops  to  think  of,  the  benefit  his  inven- 
tion may  confer  upon  future  generations.  So  I  feel  that  you, 
gentlemen,  who  have  promoted  this  centennial  celebration 
cannot  foretell  the  advantages  that  may  accrue  not  only  to 
your  own  country,  but  to  every  intelligent  country  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  by  arresting  public  attention  and  diverting  it  to 
serious  thought  and  consideration  of  the  wisdom  of  the  patent 
law  and  of  legislative  enactments  tending  to  encourage  and 
promote  industry  and  the  inventive  genius,  and  in  assembling 
together  those  that  have  conferred  upon  the  world  in  general 
such  great  benefits.  I  say  that  the  benefits  are  inestimable,  in 
view  of  the  great  and  mighty  inventions  which  the  world  has 
recently  been  put  in  possession  of,  among  which  may  be 
enumerated  that  which  has  enabled  the  human  voice  to  anni- 
hilate space  and  travel  with  lightning  rapidity  on  an  electric 
wire,  which  must  conduce  to  future  invention,  and  which  will 
extend  further  benefits  to  the  world  at  large  and  to  future  gen- 
erations, when  time  and  distance  shall  be  no  more. 

Gentlemen,  it  would  be  undesirable  to  occupy  your  time  any 
further  upon  this  great  question  of  the  advantages  of  inven- 
tive genius  to  mankind.  In  view  of  the  many  eloquent,  able, 
and  exhaustive  speeches  which  we  have  heard  upon  that  sub- 
ject in  the  last  few  days,  which  have  been  supplemented  again 
to-day  in  the  most  extraordinary  manner,  it  would  be  unwise 
and  unnecessary  for  me  to  proceed  further.  But,  gentlemen,  I 
cannot  sit  down  without  again  thanking  you  most  sincerely  for 
the  honor  you  have  conferred  upon  the  Canadian  Patent  Office 
and  those  gentlemen  who  have  accompanied  me.  I  thank  you 
for  the  respect,  attention,  kindness  and  consideration  which  we 


452      BANQUET,  WASHINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

have  received,  not  only  from  the  Centennial  Committee  but 
also  from  every  one  with  whom  we  have  had  the  honor  of  com- 
ing in  contact,  since  our  advent  into  your  city,  which  we  will 
always  look  upon  as  one  of  the  most  pleasant  reminiscences  of 
our  lives,  and  which  will  make  us  feel  the  approaching  advent 
of  our  departure  from  you  to  be  a  source  of  sincere  regret  and 
sorrow.  [Applause.] 

Professor  W ATKINS  :  I  want  to  make  an  announcement.  I 
wish  to  .state  that  the  American  Association  of  Inventors  and 
Manufacturers  have  completed  their  organization.  It  gives  me 
great  pleasure  to  say  to  you  that  Dr.  R.  J.  Gatling,  of  Con- 
necticut, has  been  chosen  president  of  that  organization  and 
that  he  is  present. 

Dr.  GATUNG  :  Gentlemen,  it  is  too  late  to  make  a  speech, 
and  I  will  merely  say  that  I  have  been  greatly  interested  in  what 
has  been  said  here  in  the  last  few  days.  I  have  never  listened 
to  addresses  that  have  pleased  me  more,  or  addresses  that  I 
think  will  do  more  in  the  future  for  promoting  the  happiness 
of  mankind.  It  is  too  late  to  make  any  address.  I  have  been 
of  my  feet  without  food  all  day,  for  I  have  worked  to  get  the 
organization  of  inventors  perfected.  I  never  dreamed  that  the 
honor  of  being  elected  president  would  be  conferred  upon  me. 
One  or  two  individuals  spoke  to  me  yesterday  upon  the  subject 
casually,  and  asked  me  whether  I  would  serve  in  that  capacity, 
but  I  told  them  that  I  did  not  desire  it  and  wished  they  would 
not  put  my  name  in  nomination  at  all.  They  voted  by  ballot, 
took  around  the  hat.  I  voted  for  Mr.  Hubbard,  and  thought  he 
was  the  man,  and  he  ought  to  have  been  the  man  ;  but  it  seems 
they  voted  for  me  and  insisted  that  I  should  accept  it.  I  can 
be  in  Washington  only  occasionally,  but  I  will  do  all  I  can  to 
further  the  purposes  of  the  organization.  Mr.  Hubbard  has 
been  elected  first  vice-president  and  we  have  got  a  good  com- 
mittee and  a  good  organization,  as  far  as  was  possible  in  the 
time  we  had. 

I  have  enjoyed  myself  very  much  in  Washington.  I  have 
been  here  a  great  many  times,  and  when  I  first  came  here  it 
was  all  a  commons.  Now  I  think  it  is  the  most  beautiful  city 
in  the  world.  You  ought  all  to  be  proud  of  it  as  American 
citizens.  [Applause.] 


PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS. 


THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW  PATENT  OFFICE. 
BY  ROBERT  W.  FENWICK,  WASHINGTON  CITY,  D.  C. 


After  the  seat  of  Government  was  removed  from  Philadel- 
phia to  the  City  of  Washington,  which  took  place  in  1800,  the 
entire  business  of  the  Patent  Office  continued  to  be  carried  on 
by  a  single  clerk  in  the  Department  of  State. 

In  1 80 1,  Dr.  William  Thornton,  a  very  accomplished  and 
thoroughly  Americanized  English  gentleman,  at  one  period 
one  of  the  early  Commissioners  of  the  Federal  city,  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  Secretary  of  State  to  take  charge  of  the  issuing 
of  patents  for  inventions.  The  business  continuing  to  increase, 
a  clerk  and  messenger  were  appointed  to  assist  in  the  duties  of 
the  office,  which  had  been  removed  to  Cocken's  two-story 
house  on  Eighth  street,  between  E  and  F  streets  N.  W. 
(which  house  was  afterwards  occupied  by  Mrs.  Blanchard). 

In  1811  the  large  three-story  brick  and  stone  building 
erected  by  Mr.  Samuel  Blodgett,  previously,  for  a  hotel  at  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  square  on  which  the  new  general  post 
office  now  stands,  having  been  purchased  by  the  Government 
and  fitted  up  for  the  General  Post  Office  and  Patent  Office, 
the  business  of  the  latter  was  removed  from  its  location  to  the 
second  floor  of  this  building,  where  it  remained  under  the 
superintendance  of  Dr.  Thornton*  till  his  death,  which  took 
place  on  the  2yth  of  March,  1828. 

In  1816  William  Elliot,  mathematician  and  astronomer, 
and  formerly  surveyor  of  Washington  City,  was  appointed  by 
the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Monroe,  as  assistant  to  Dr.  Thorn- 
ton, in  which  office  he  remained  till  1829,  when  he  resigned. 

*A  fine  portrait  of  Dr.  Thornton  is  now  on  exhibition  at  the  New 
Patent  Office. 


454       PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS. 

William  Parker  Elliot,*  the  architect  of  the  present  Patent 
Office  building,  and  a  son  of  the  William  Elliot*  above  referred 
to,  was  acting  as  draughtsman  of  the  old  Patent  Office  during 
part  of  the  time  his  father  was  in  office. 

William  Elliot  was  born  in  England  in  1773.  Had  one 
daughter,  Emily,  and  three  sons,  Seth  Alfred,  John  Bowman 
and  William  Parker  Elliot.  He  died  at  Washington,  D.  C., 
December  31,  1838.  The  National  Intelligencer  of  January  i, 
1838,  speaking  of  his  death,  said  :  ''Suddenly  on  the  forenoon 
* '  of  Saturday  last  Mr.  William  Elliot,  surveyor  of  the  city  of 
"  Washington,  aged  64.  Mr.  E.,  though  a  native  of  England, 
' '  was  an  old  resident  of  this  city.  Was  the  founder  of  the 
"  Washington  City  Gazette  in  1813,  and  possessing  considerable 
' '  scientific  attainments,  was  a  useful  as  well  as  a  kind  hearted 
"  citizen.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  zealous  mem- 
"  bers  of  the  Columbian  Institute,  and  his  remains  were 
"  attended  to  the  grave  by  that  Society." 

Prior  and  up  to  the  administration  of  General  Jackson  the 
entire  business  of  this  office  was  carried  on  by  four  persons, 
viz :  Dr.  William  Thornton,  William  Elliot,  William  P. 
Elliot  and  Benjamin  Fenwick  ;  and  in  1836-37  by  seven  per- 
sons, including  messenger,  machinist  and  assistant  clerks. 
The  number  of  persons  now  (1891)  employed  at  the  new 
Patent  Office  is  fully  six  hundred. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  to  relate  that  in  these  early  days  a 
single  pony  was  kept  by  the  Government  for  the  use  of  the 
Patent  Office,  and  that  the  messenger  or  clerk  rode  this  pony 
when  he  went  to  the  State  Department  to  have  the  patents 
signed  by  the  Secretary  of  State  and  other  officials. 

In  1832  the  General  Post  Office  building  on  E  street  was 
extended  eastward  to  Seventh  street,  and  the  following  year 
the  Patent  Office  was  removed  to  the  new  portion  of  the  build- 
ing, where  it  remained  till  the  i5th  of  December,  1836,  when 
the  whole  structure  with  its  contents  (excepting  some  of  the 
books  of  the  General  Post  Office)  was  destroyed  by  fire. 

During  the  construction  of  the  main  central  portion  of  the 
present  Patent  Office  building  in  accordance  with  the  architec- 

*Portraits  of  both  of  the  Elliots  are  on  exhibition  at  the  new  Patent 
Office. 


PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS,      455 

tural  plans  designed  by  William  P.  Elliot,  which  was  adopted 
on  July  4th,  1836,  by  Congress  and  approved  by  the  President, 
General  Jackson  (an  interval  of  four  years),  the  business  of  the 
Patent  Office,  which  was  resumed  on  July  7,  1837,  was  carried 
on  in  the  "  City  Hall,"  from  whence  in  1840  it  was  transferred 
to  the  new  Patent  Office  building. 

In  connection  with  the  history  of  the  old  Patent  Office,  it 
should  never  be  forgotten  that  by  the  patriotism  and  scientific 
devotion  of  Dr.  William  Thornton  the  germ  of  our  grand 
patent  system  was  saved  from  destruction  by  the  British 
soldiery.  It  was  related  to  the  writer  by  Mr.  Seth  A.  Elliot, 
another  son  of  William  Elliot,  that  as  the  British  command- 
ing officer  was  about  to  have  the  torch  applied  to  the  Patent 
Office  building,  Dr.  Thornton  appeared  on  the  portico  and 
earnestly  cried  out,  "This  is  the  emporium  of  the  Arts  and 
Sciences  of  America  ;  don't  burn  it."  To  the  credit  of  this 
officer,  be  it  remembered,  he  listened  to  the  appeal,  and  gave 
orders  to  his  soldiers  to  pass  on  without  burning  the  building. 

THK   NEW  PATENT  OFFICE  BUILDING. 

This  magnificent  building,  occupying  two  whole  squares, 
bounded  by  Seventh  and  Ninth  and  F  and  G  streets  northwest, 
is  of  quadrangular  shape,  413  by  280  feet  with  an  open  court 
of  270  by  112  feet,  giving  light  and  air,  and  with  slight  expense 
might  be  made  to  present  to  the  eye  of  the  overtasked  wearied 
officials  beautiful  grass  plats,  growing  plants,  flowers  and  flow- 
ing fountains.  This  building  as  originally  designed  was  to 
contain  a  large  room  for  patented  models,  270  by  65  feet ;  and 
two  smaller  ones  for  the  same  purpose,  each  85  by  65  feet,  com- 
municating with  the  larger  room,  thus  making  a  room  of  400  by 
65  feet  on  the  principal  floor  ;  with  thirty  six  commodius  rooms 
for  office  purposes  ;  and  the  same  number  of  rooms  on  the 
basement  floor,  not  for  clerks,  but  for  useful  storing  purposes. 
There  was  also  to  be  a  continuous  gallery  above  the  principal 
floor  of  1 100  by  65  feet,  intended  as  a  receptacle  for  patented 
models,  and  the  manufacturers'  national  exhibition  gallery. 
The  business  part  of  the  structure  was  to  be  divided  by  wide 
passages  of  16  feet,  running  longitudinally  through  the  center 
of  the  same  with  openings  at  each  end  for  light  and  air,  by 


456       PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS. 

which  arrangement,  and  the  open  court  and  the  streets  on  all 
of  its  sides,  the  rooms  were  to  be  well  ventilated  and  lighted. 

ARCHITECTURE   OF  THE   BUILDING. 

The  building  was  to  be  two  stories  high,  resting  upon  an  ele- 
vated basement.  The  order  of  architecture  adopted  for  the  ex- 
terior was  the  Grecian  Doric  of  the  age  of  Pericles,  when  the 
fine  arts  in  Greece,  particularly  architecture  and  sculpture,  had 
reached  the  highest  points  of  excellence.  The  details  are 
modeled  after  the  celebrated  Parthenon,  erected  on  the  Acrop- 
olis at  Athens,  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  Athenian  architec- 
ture, and  which  was  in  i827-'28,  in  part  still  standing,  although 
more  than  2,000  years  had  passed  since  its  erection  ;  and  be- 
fore it,  in  his  early  manhood,  the  architect  of  the  Patent  Office 
stood,  and  by  it  had  his  genius  so  kindled  into  a  living 
flame,  that  he  was  enabled,  on  his  return  to  his  native  land, 
to  reproduce  some  of  its  most  striking  parts  in  his  design 
for  our  noble  Patent  Office  structure.  At  that  date  the  mar- 
ble of  the  ancient  building  had  indurated  to  such  a  degree 
from  its  long  exposure  to  atmospheric  influences,  as  to  resist 
the  action  of  a  chisel.  The  principal  front  of  the  Patent  Office 
on  F  street  is  graced  with  a  portico  of  sixteen  columns,  octa- 
style  arrangement,  the  columns,  and  entablature,  and  pediment 
being  of  the  size  and  proportion  of  the  Parthenon,  each  column 
being  18  feet  in  circumference  at  the  base.  The  tympanum  and 
metopes  are  left  blank.  In  the  Parthenon  these  parts  were 
enriched  with  very  fine  sculptures  in  basso  relievo  and  alto  relievo 
of  such  extraordinary  excellence  that  modern  artists  may  well 
despair  of  equalling  them.  The  monotony  of  this  extended 
front  is  still  farther  broken  up  and  the  boldness  of  the  outline 
increased  by  projections  of  13  feet  next  to  west  and  east  sides. 
The  whole  building  is  surrounded  with  bold  ant&  or  pilasters 
let  into  the  external  walls,  which  produce  nearly  as  rich  an 
effect  as  the  isolated  frustrum  of  cone  columns,  and  are  much 
stronger  and  serve  also  as  buttresses  to  resist  the  thrust  of  the 
arches.  The  entablature  is  continuous  and  surrounded  by  a 
blocking  course,  which  finishes  the  superstructure.  The  win- 
dows are  arranged  between  pilasters.  The  north  front  on  G 
street  is  the  same  as  the  south  front  on  F  street,  except  that 


PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS.      457 

the  inner  columns  of  the  portico  are  omitted.  The  east  front 
on  Seventh  street  is  graced  with  a  portico  of  six  columns  which 
tends  to  break  the  too  great  monotony  of  the  extended  facade. 
The  west  front  is  relieved  by  a  similar  portico.  This  portico, 
owing  to  the  position  of  the  ground  on  the  west,  rests  upon  a 
vaulted  terrace  from  which  it  is  approached.  The  cellar  story 
under  this  side  of  the  building  has,  owing  to  the  low  grade  of 
Ninth  street,  a  greater  height.  A  horizontal  terrace  or  pave- 
ment surrounds  the  whole  structure  from  the  curb  line.  A 
handsome  ornamental  railing  with  gates  encloses  almost  the 
entire  building.  The  aforegoing  is  a  description  of  the  build- 
ing as  given  by  the  architect  himself,  and  it  is  in  accordance 
with  the  original  design  adopted  by  Congress,  July  4,  1836. 

ERECTION    OF    THE    BUILDING. 

In  the  erection  of  the  building  the  original  architectural  de- 
sign was  substantially  adhered  to,  except  in  a  few  minor  points, 
which  departure,  in  the  opinion  of  the  designer  or  architect, 
were  not  beneficial  nor  an  improvement.  These  changes  were 
made  by  the  constructing  and  superintending  architect,  Mr. 
Mills,  who  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  production  of  the  orig- 
inal plan  adopted  by  Congress. 

ITS    ORIGINAL    PURPOSE. 

The  original  intention  of  this  building  was  that  it  should  be 
exclusively  used  for  the  interests  of  inventors  and  manufac- 
turers of  patented  inventions,  and  it  was  to  supply  the  want 
caused  by  the  destruction  of  the  Patent  Office  by  fire  December 
J5,  T836,  at  which  time  there  was  a  total  loss  of  the  models, 
drawings,  records,  and  indeed  papers  of  every  kind,  and  the 
officials  of  the  Patent  Office  were  obliged  to  obtain  accommo- 
dations in  the  City  Hall,  Henry  L.  Ellsworth,  Esq.,  being  then 
the  Commissioner  of  Patents,  and  having  only  five  or  six  other 
employes  as  his  assistants.  In  the  mind  of  this  Commissioner 
the  rights  of  inventors  were  sacred  ;  his  burning  words  to  Con- 
gress on  this  subject  are  as  follows  :  "  Interest,  sympathy  and 
"  patriotism  will  unite  in  the  effort  to  repair  the  loss.  Justice 
' '  demands  all  the  reparation  that  can  be  made.  Government 
' '  has  received  from  industry  and  ingenuity  their  choicest  trib- 


458       PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS. 

' '  ute.  She  confided  the  valuable  repository  to  a  place  of  little 
"  security.  I  have  mourned  in  common  with  others  at  the  ruin, 
' '  but  candor  compels  me  to  say  that  without  much  help  I  can 
' '  do  nothing  to  repair  the  loss.  I  leave,  therefore,  with  the 
' '  National  legislature  the  importunities  of  those  I  am  com- 
"  pelled  to  hear,  but  which  I  have  not  the  power  to  relieve." 
A  like  zeal  and  interest  for  inventors  actuated  Hon.  John  Rug- 
gles,  chairman  of  the  Senate  committee,  to  whom  the  matter 
of  providing  for  the  erection  of  the  new  Patent  Office  was  con- 
fided ;  and  to  him,  and  the  members  of  the  House  committee, 
the  inventors  of  the  country  owe  a  deep  and  lasting  debt  of 
gratitude.  In  his  report  submitted  Januar}^  9,  1837,  to  the 
24th  Congress,  second  session,  is  found  the  following  :  "In  ex- 
"  amining  the  subject  referred  to  them,  the  committee  have 
' '  been  deeply  impressed  with  the  loss  the  country  has  sustained 
"  in  the  destruction  by  fire,  on  the  fifteenth  of  December,  1836, 
1 '  of  the  records,  original  drawings,  models,  etc. ,  belonging  to 
"  the  Patent  office.  They  not  only  embrace  the  whole  his- 
"  tory  of  American  invention  for  nearly  half  a  century,  but 
' '  were  the  muniments  of  property  of  vast  amounts,  secured  by 
' (  law  to  a  great  number  of  individuals,  both  citizens  and  for- 
' '  eigners,  the  protection  and  security  of  which  must  now  be- 
' '  come  seriously  difficult  and  precarious.  Everything  belong- 
"  ing  to  the  office  was  destroyed,  nothing  was  saved.  There 
' '  were  1 68  large  folio  volumes  of  records  and  twenty-six  large 
"  portfolios  containing  nine  thousand  drawings,  many  of  which 
' '  were  beautifully  executed  and  very  valuable ;  there  were 
* '  also  all  the  original  descriptions  and  specifications  of  inven- 
1 '  tions,  in  all  about  ten  thousand,  besides  caveats,  and  many 
' '  other  valuable  documents  and  papers.  The  Patent  Office 
' '  also  contained  the  largest  and  most  interesting  collection  of 
' '  models  in  the  world,  there  being  about  seven  thousand.  The 
' '  American  inventions  pertaining  to  the  spinning  of  cotton  and 
' '  wool,  and  the  manufacture  of  fabrics,  in  many  respects  ex- 
' '  ceed  those  of  any  other  nation,  and  reduce  so  much  the  ex- 
' '  pense  of  manufacture,  that  the  British  manufacturers  were 
' '  reluctantly  obliged,  at  the  expense  of  a  little  national  pride, 
' '  to  lay  aside  their  own  machinery  and  adopt  our  improve- 
' '  ments,  to  prevent  our  underselling  them  even  in  their  home 
' '  market. 


PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS.      459 

"  In  this  department  were  the  inventions  of  Brown,  Thorpe, 
"  Danforth,  Couillaird,  and  Calvert.  The  beautiful  operative 
"model  of  Wilkinson's  machine  for  manufacturing  weavers' 
"  reeds  by  one  operation,  was  considered  one  of  the  most  in- 
genious mechanical  combinations  ever  invented.  Of  this 
"  character  was  also  Whittemore's  celebrated  machine  for  mak- 
' '  ing  wool  cards.  There  were  several  models  of  valuable  im- 
"  provements  in  shearing  and  napping  cloth,  patented  to  Swift, 
"  Stowell,  Dewey,  Parsons,  Daniels  and  others."  Continuing 
' '  his  report,  he  referred  to  the  patents  of  ' '  Griggs,  Perkins, 
"  Reed,  Odiorne,  and  specially  to  the  patent  of  Fulton  for  the 
"  application  of  steam  power  for  propelling  boats,"  and  says, 
"  the  name  of  Fulton  is  associated  with  one  of  the  noblest 
"  efforts  of  genius  and  science." 

He  further  says  in  his  report :  "  The  sentiment  is  not  an  un- 
' '  common  one,  that  the  tax  upon  patents  is  both  unwise  in 
"  policy  and  unjust  in  principle.  *  *  *  Inventors  are 
"  public  benefactors,  contributing  to  the  promotion  and  im- 
"  provement  of  all  branches  of  national  industry,  and  in  most 
"  instances  without  any  adequate  remuneration."  And  he  en- 
"  quired  :  "  Who  has  done  more  to  enrich  the  South,  nay,  in- 
"  directly,  the  whole  country,  than  Whitney,  and  what  was  his 
"reward?  Let  the  South  answer.  Evans  and  Fulton,  with 
"genius  and  talents,  never  while  they  lived  appreciated  to 
"  their  worth,  died  overwhelmed  by  embarrassments." 

And  he  also  remarked,  having  reference  to  the  destruction 
by  fire,  that  "It,  the  Patent  Office,  was  an  object  of  just  pride 
' '  to  every  American  able  to  appreciate  its  value  as  an  item  in 
' '  the  estimate  of  American  character  or  the  advantages  and 
' '  benefits  derivable  from  high  improvements  in  the  useful  arts. ' ' 

THE   ARCHITECT   OF  THE   PATENT   OFFICE   BUILDING. 

To  William  Parker  Elliot,  Esq.,  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  son 
of  Mr.  William  Elliot,  mechanical  draughtsman  in  the  first 
Patent  Office  during  the  superintendency  of  the  celebrated 
William  Thornton,  or  up  to  the  year  1829,  when  he  resigned, 
belongs  this  high  honor.  The  young  architect  is  introduced 
to  us  in  the  following  letter,  found  among  his  private  papers  : 


460       PAPERS  UPON  U,  5.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS. 

"MAYOR'S  OFFICE, 
"  Washington,  April  16,  1827. 

"Having  just  learned  that  Mr.  William  P.  Elliot,  a  young 
* '  gentleman  of  this  city,  is  about  to  leave  Washington  for 
' '  London  to  pursue  his  studies  as  an  architect,  it  affords  me 
' '  pleasure  to  state  that  I  have  known  him  for  several  years, 
"  and  that  he  is  a  young  gentleman  of  exemplary  habits  and 
"promising  talents. 

"R.  C.  WEIGHTMAN." 

Mr.  Roger  C.  Weightman  was  Mayor  of  Washington  at  the 
date  he  wrote  the  letter. 

He  is  next  introduced  by  the  following  report  of  the  Con- 
gressional Committee  on  Public  Buildings  : 

' '  The  Committee  on  Public  Buildings  having  approved  of 
' '  the  plan  submitted,  amongst  others,  to  their  consideration  by 
"William  P.  Elliot  for  a  fire-proof  building  for  the  Treasury 
' '  Department,  etc. ,  and  having  framed  the  bill  making  the 
1 '  appropriation  toward  erecting  the  same  upon  the  estimates 
"and  details  furnished  by  Mr.  Elliot,  do  therefore  recom- 
* '  mend  his  plan  for  adoption  by  the  President  of  the  United 
"States. 

' '  LBVI  LINCOLN, 
"MICHAEL  W.  ASH, 
' '  ANDREW  T.  JUDSON, 
"E.  PETTIGREW, 
"A.  WARD. 
"  Washington,  July  4,  1836." 

' '  The  Committee  on  the  Patent  Office  having  approved  of 
"the  plans  submitted,  amongst  others,  by  William  P.  Elliot 
"and  Ithiel  Town,  for  a  fire-proof  building  for  the  Patent 
' '  Office,  and  having  framed  the  bill  making  the  appropriation 
' '  for  the  erection  of  the  same  upon  the  estimates  and  details 
' '  furnished  by  them,  do  therefore  recommend  their  plan  for 
' '  adoption  by  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

"GORHAM  PARKS, 
"  JAMES  HARPER, 
"SAMUEL  F.  VINTON, 

"  Committee  of  H.  R. 
' '  Washington,  July  4,  1836. " 


PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS.      461 

' '  The  Committee  of  the  Senate  on  the  Patent  Office  accorded 
"  in  opinion  with  the  Committee  of  the  House,  as  above.  The 
' '  undersigned  being  the  only  member  of  that  Committee  now 
"in  Washington,  adds  his  individual  recommendation  of  the 
'  *  plan  of  Messrs.  Elliot  and  Town. 

"JNO.  RUGGI.ES. 

"July  4,  1836." 

PRESIDENT  JACKSON'S  APPROVAL  OF  THE  PLAN. 

' '  Under  the  act  of  Congress  authorizing  the  President  of  the 
' '  United  states  to  cause  a  Treasury  Building  and  Patent  Office 
( '  to  be  erected,  I  hereby  designate  the  Commissioner  of  Public 
1 '  Buildings  to  superintend  generally  the  detailed  modifications 
"of  plans  for  them:  The  advertising  and  forming  of  con - 
1 '  tracts  and  the  whole  disbursements  thereon  ;  and  to  enable 
' '  him  to  keep  the  accounts,  make  the  payments,  etc. ,  prepare 
' '  vouchers  for  settlements  and  conduct  the  other  correspond- 
"  ence  relating  thereto,  I  authorize  him  to  employ  a  clerk  at 
"  not  over  nine  hundred  dollars  a  year,  to  be  paid  equally  out 
"of  the  appropriations  for  said  objects.  I  further  appoint 
"  Robert  Mills  as  architect  to  aid  in  forming  the  plans,  making 
"proper  changes  therein  from  time  to  time,  and  seeing  to  the 
"erection  of  said  buildings  in  substantial  conformity  to  the  plans 
1 '  hereby  adopted,  which  are,  in  their  general  outlines,  to  be,  as  to 
' '  the  Treasury  building,  that  plan  annexed  by  said  Mills  ;  and, 
"as  to  the  Patent  Office,  that  annexed  by  Mr.  Elliot :  The 
' '  former  building  to  be  erected  on  the  old  site,  and  the  latter 
"  one  on  the  square  north  of  the  Post  Office. 

"ANDREW  JACKSON. 

"  Washington  City,  6th  of  July,  1836." 

The  aforegoing  reports  of  the  Committees,  and  order  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States  would  appear  to  be  conclusive 
proof  as  to  the  authorship  of  the  design  of  the  Patent  Office 
by  William  P.  Elliot,  associated  with  his  partner,  Ithiel  Town. 

From  an  examination  of  all  the  private  (original)  papers  of  Mr. 
Elliot,  and  letters  from  Mr.  Town,  the  proof  is  conclusive  that 
while  Mr.  Town  was  associated  with  Mr.  Elliot  as  a  partner  in 
the  profession  on  account  of  his  practical  mechanical  and 
scientific  experience  in  the  construction  of  public  buildings, 
William  P.  Elliot's  classical  culture,  genius  and  taste  were 


462      PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS. 

relied  upon  as  to  the  original  conceptions  of  the  designs  and 
styles  of  architecture  introduced  into  our  present  Patent  Office. 
If  Mr.  Elliot  was  now  living  he  would  place  every  credit  upon 
Mr.  Town  that  belongs  to  him  for  the  part  he  took  in  connec- 
tion with  his  great  achievement. 

At  different  periods  subsequent  to  the  adoption  of  Mr. 
Elliot's  plan,  misunderstandings  have  arisen  as  to  the  author- 
ship of  the  Patent  Office  building,  growing  out  of  the  fact 
that  Mr.  Robert  Mills  was  employed  as  the  constructing 
architect  to  carry  out  Mr.  Elliot's  plans,  and  to  settle  this 
question  the  following  letter  was  written  by  Senator  Ruggles  : 

"  Washington,  February  27,  184.1. 
"Dear  Sir: 

1 '  Your  note  is  before  me,  desiring  me  to  state  my  recollec- 
' '  tion  of  the  authorship  of  the  plan  of  the  new  Patent  Office 
"building  now  nearly  completed. 

"I  was  chairman  of  the  select  committee  of  the  Senate  in 
"  1836  that  reported  the  bill  for  reorganizing  the  Patent  Office, 
' '  and  a  bill  providing  for  the  erection  of  a  new  edifice  for  its 
"  accommodation.  The  plan  furnished  by  you,  on  being  called 
"on  for  that  purpose,  was  laid  before  the  committee  and  met 
"their  full  approbation.  The  estimates  on  which  an  appro- 
' '  priation  was  made,  were  based  upon  it ;  and  your  plan  was 
'  *  thus  adopted  by  the  committee,  and  by  the  Senate  in  ratify - 
"  ing  the  doings  of  the  committee,  and,  indeed,  by  both  Houses 
4 '  of  Congress.  That  plan  has  been  followed  substantially  in 
"the  construction  of  the  building.  There  has  been  a  slight 
4 '  departure  from  it  in  two  or  three  instances,  the  most  material 
* '  of  which  is,  the  segment  of  a  circle  under  the  north  pedi- 
"ment.  Whether  any  liberty  taken  with  the  original  plan,  be 
' '  an  improvement  in  the  archithcture,  may  be  very  question- 
"able. 

"  I  remember  to  have  signed  a  recommendation  to  the  Presi- 
dent, Gen.  Jackson,  in  favor  of  your  being  appointed  the 
' '  architect  to  superintend  the  erection  of  the  building,  as  well 
"on  account  of  your  competency  and  skill  in  such  matters,  as 
"because  you  were  the  author  of  the  plan,  and  it  was  but  just 
"  that  you  should  have  the  superintendence  of  its  construction. 
1 '  But  for  some  cause,  supposed  then  to  be  party  or  personal 


PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS.      463 

"  favor,  another  person  was  selected.  The  plan  was  spoken  of 
"  by  the  most  competent  judges  as  displaying  a  high  degree  of 
' '  architectural  science  and  taste,  and  since  the  erection  of  the 
' '  edifice,  incomplete  as  it  is,  it  has  attracted  much  attention 
' '  and  admiration  as  doing  great  credit  to  the  cultivated  taste 
"of  its  projector.  When  the  residue  of  the  building  as  de- 
"  signed  and  projected  on  the  original  plan  shall  have  been 
l<  erected  it  will,  as  is  believed,  surpass  in  "grandeur  and  beau- 
* '  ty  any  public  edifice  in  this  country. 

' '  I  am,  dear  sir,  very  respectfully, 
"Your  Ob't  Svt., 

"JOHN  RUGGLES. 
"  WILLIAM  P.  ELLIOT,  Esq.,  Washington,  D.  C." 

[The  original  of  this  letter  is  among  the  papers  of  Mr.  Wil- 
liam P.  Elliot.] 

In  connection  with  the  aforegoing  letter  of  Mr.  Ruggles,  the 
following  letter  from  Commissioner  of  Patents,  Hon.  H.  L,. 
Ellsworth,  found  among  the  papers  of  Mr.  Elliot,  is  important : 

Patent  Office,  December  14,  184.0. 
Sir: 

Yours  of  the  I4th  inst.  is  received — I  hasten  to  say  that  I 
am  surprised  that  any  one  should  presume  to  rob  you  of  the 
merit  of  the  beautiful  and  very  convenient  design  of  the  new 
Patent  Office.  Some  few  alterations  may  have  been  suggested 
in  carrying  out  the  plans,  but  in  all  essential  particulars  the 
credit  of  the  architecture  belongs  to  yourself.  Should  any 
doubts  arise  I  refer  you  to  the  gentlemen  who  composed  the 
joint  committee  of  Congress  who  met  at  the  old  Patent  Office 
previous  to  the  fire,  and  then  selected  and  approved  your  plan 
as  the  best.  The  wants  of  the  office  I  freely  communicated  to 
you,  and  I  am  happy  to  assure  you  that  I  find  the  arrangement 
you  proposed  not  only  adequate  to  our  present  wants,  but  sus- 
ceptible of  such  addition  as  will  accommodate  this  bureau  for 
half  a  century  to  come. 

I   cannot   believe  that  others  will  seriously  claim  what  is 

justly  your  due. 

Yours  respectfully, 

H.  L,.  ELLSWORTH. 
MR.  WILLIAM  P.  ELLIOT,  Washington  City. 


464      PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PA  TENT  OFFICE  TOPICS. 

In  conclusion  of  the  subject  as  to  who  was  the  true  architect 
of  the  Patent  Office,  the  following  extracts  found  among  Mr. 
Elliot's  papers,  and  endorsed  "  from  the  private  journal  of  Wil- 
liam P.  Elliot, ' '  are  very  interesting  : 

NOTES   FROM   W.  P.  ELLIOT'S   DIARY. 

"  1836,  March  i.  Submitted  my  plan  for  a  new  Patent  Office 
' '  to  the  Committee  on  Patents,  who  met  at  the  room  of  the 
' '  Superintendent  of  the  Patent  Office,  in  the  old  General  Post- 
"  Office  building — John  Ruggles  of  the  Senate,  chairman. 

' '  Understood  from  Mr.  Ellsworth  that  several  plans  were 
' '  before  the  committee,  and  that  mine  was  preferred  as  being 
' '  the  best  adapted  for  the  wants  of  the  office.  Committee  ad- 
"  journed  to  meet  at  the  Capitol  this  day  week  in  order  to  have 
"  a  more  full  meeting  for  final  action  on  the  subject  of  a  plan." 

' '  March  8.  Again  submitted  my  plan  for  New  Patent  Office 
11  to  Committee  on  Patents  at  the  room  in  the  Capitol.  Under- 
"  stood  that  Mr.  Mills  submitted  another  plan.  My  plan  re- 
' '  ceived  unanimous  approval  of  the  committee,  and  was  finally 
' '  adopted  at  this  meeting,  and  I  was  requested  to  furnish  an 
"  estimate  of  the  cost  of  erecting  about  two  hundred  and  seventy 
' '  feet  of  the  south  side  or  front  of  the  block. ' ' 

' '  March  10.  Called  on  Mr.  Ellsworth  with  estimates  for 
"new  Patent  Office— then  on  Mr.  Ruggles,  who  thought  it 
"  too  high,  and  requested  me  to  reduce  it  if  possible." 

"  March  n.  Called  to  see  Mr.  Ruggles — left  estimate  for 
"  Patent  Office." 

"July  2.  Heard  that  the  bill  appropriating  one  hundred 
"  and  eight  thousand  dollars  toward  erecting  a  new  Patent 
' '  Office  on  my  plan  had  been  passed  by  the  two  Houses  of 
1 '  Congress.  And  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  toward  erect- 
"  ing  a  new  Treasury  building,  also  on  my  plan  as  submitted 
"  and  adopted  by  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings,  of  which 
' '  Leonard  Jarvis  is  chairman. ' ' 

"July  j.  Waited  on  Senator  Ruggles,  Levi  Lincoln,  G. 
"  Parks,  Gen.  A.  Ward,  Samuel  F.  Vinton,  and  other  members 
' '  of  the  Committee  on  the  Patent  Office  and  the  Public  Build- 
"  ings,  and  Mr.  Ellsworth,  Superintendent  of  the  Patent  Office, 
"  to  advise  with  them  on  the  course  to  be  pursued  in  order  to 


PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PA  TENT  OFFICE  TOPICS.      465 

"  obtain  the  superintendence  of  the  execution  of  my  plans  for 
' '  the  Patent  Office  and  Treasury  building. 

"July  4.  The  Committee  on  the  Patent  Office  gave  me  cer- 
"  tificates  in  writing  that  they  had  adopted  my  plan  for  a  new 
' '  Patent  Office,  and  recommended  the  same  to  the  President 
"  for  his  adoption. 

' 'Signed  by— 

"  GORHAM  PARKS,  M.  C. 

"SAMUEL  F.  VINTON,  M.  C. 

"JAMES  HARPER,  M.  C. 

"JOHN   RUGGLES,  S.  U.  S." 

' '  The  Committee  on  the  Public  Buildings  gave  a  similar  cer- 
' '  tificate  respecting  the  Treasury  building,  signed  by — 

' '  lyEvi  LINCOLN, 
"MICHAEL  W.  ASH, 
"ANDREW  T.  JUDSON, 
"  B.  PETTIGREW, 
"A.  WARD." 

''July  5.  Wrote  to  the  President  soliciting  the  office  of  arch- 
' '  itect  and  enclosing  the  above  mentioned  certificates  of  the 
' '  committees  of  Congress  and  other  testimonials.  The  plans 
' '  of  the  public  buildings  submitted  by  the  several  architects 
"  were  brought  from  the  Capitol  to  the  President's  house.  The 
"  subject  of  the  adoption  of  a  plan  for  a  Patent  Office  and 
' '  Treasury  building  was  brought  before  the  Cabinet  by  the 
"President.  Major  Noland,  the  Commissioner  of  Public 
"  Buildings  had  invited  Mr.  Robert  Mills,  architect  (who  had 
' '  been  recently  employed  by  General  Jackson  to  make  draw- 
"  ings  for  the  Hermitage),  to  be  in  readiness  in  the  room  of  Mr. 
' '  Earl,  opposite  the  President's  office.  No  plan  was  adopted 
' '  this  day.  I  understood  it  was  the  supposition  that  my  plan 
"  for  the  Treasury  building  would  be  rejected  because  I  had 
"  made  no  provision  for  the  accommodation  of  the  General 
"  Post  Office  under  the  same  roof  with  the  Treasury,  as  desired 
"by  Amos  Kendall,  a  member  of  the  Cabinet,  and  that  Mr. 
' '  Mills  had  been  invited  to  draw  a  plan  according  to  the  view 
"  of  Mr.  Kendall,  which  would  bring  the  two  departments 
«'  under  the  same  roof  and  on  the  Presidents  square.  Although 


466      PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS. 

1 '  my  plans  had  been  pronounced  the  best  by  the  Committees  of 
"  Congress,  by  the  Superintendent  of  the  Patent  Office  and  by 
"  the  public,  yet  I  was  not  even  invited  by  General  Jackson  or 
"  his  Cabinet  to  modify  them  to  meet  their  views  ;  or  to  have 
"  anything  to  do  in  the  business." 

"July  6.  Saw  Mr.  Noland,  who  informed  me  that  the  Cab- 
"  inet  had  again  met  on  the  subject  of  the  Public  Buildings — 
* '  that  he  was  present  at  their  deliberations — that  Mills  had 
"  submitted  another  plan,  drawn  in  conformity  to  Mr.  Kendall's 
"wishes,  embracing  the  General  Post  Office  in  the  same  range 
"with  the  Treasury,  and  which  was  adopted;  that  my  plan 
' '  for  the  Patent  Office  was  preferred  over  all  the  others  as  the 
"  best,  and  adopted  ;  that  Robert  Mills  was  appointed  architect 
"  to  attend  to  the  execution  of  them." 

'''July  7.  Called  on  the  President  to  learn  what  action  had 
"been  taken  on  the  subject  of  the  public  buildings.  He 
1 '  informed  me  that  my  plan  for  the  Patent  Office  had  been 
"  adopted,  and  that  Mr.  Mills'  plan  for  the  Treasury  building 
"  had  been  selected.  That  he  had  appointed  Mr.  M.  architect 
* '  because  he  had  come  well  recommended  as  an  experienced 
' '  builder  of  fire-proof  buildings — that  he  considered  me  too 
"  young  and  inexperienced,  but  that  I  should  be  well  paid  for 
1 '  my  design.  I  observed  that  I  thought  it  strange  that  the 
' '  selection  of  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings,  after  two 
"sessions  of  mature  deliberation,  should  be  set  aside  and 
' '  another  plan  made  at  so  short  a  notice,  without  competition, 
' '  should  be  adopted.  The  President  replied  that  the  law  left 
"  the  selection  of  these  plans  to  him  and  that  my  plan  made 
' '  no  provision  for  the  Post  Office.  I  observed  that  the  General 
' '  Post  Office  should  not  be  in  the  same  block  with  the  Treasury 
' '  Department,  and  that  none  of  these  public  buildings  ought 
"to  be  on  the  President's  square.  He  replied,  'that  is  a 
"  '  matter  of  opinion.'  I  then  remarked,  as  to  my  youth 
' '  and  inexperience  disqualifying  me  for  the  superintendency  of 
"  these  works,  that  if  I  was  competent  to  design  them,  I  cer- 
"  tainly  could  execute  them,  and  that  at  least  I  ought  to  be 
"  allowed  to  superintend  the  execution  of  my  own  plan — and 
"  that  if  his  rule  always  prevailed,  I  should  never  have  that 
' '  experience  which  he  had  required,  but  that  I  had  had  experi- 


PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PA  TENT  OFFICE  TOPICS.      467 

"ence;  I  could  refer  him  to  works  I  had  completed  with 
"  satisfaction  to  my  employer." 

"July  8.  Was  surprised  to  learn  from  Major  Noland  that 
"  tlie  President  had  ordered  the  Patent  Office  to  be  built  on  the 
"southeast  corner  of  reservation  No.  8,  instead  of  the  centre 
' '  of  the  south  side,  because  he  did  not  wish  to  disturb  the 
' '  log  cabin  of  an  old  squatter  on  the  public  land.  I 
' '  observed  that  the  plan  covered  the  whole  square,  and  that  if 
"  his  order  was  carried  into  effect  it  would  destroy  the  plan. 
"That  rather  than  this  should  take  place,  I  would  give  the 
' '  old  woman  a  residence  as  long  as  she  lived.  He  said  his 
"order  must  be  obeyed.  The  conversation  as  to  the  conse- 
"  quences  of  his  order  became  rather  angry.  I  left  him  in  that 
* '  mood,  and  myself  disappointed.  I  then  waited  on  his  par- 
"  ticular  friends,  Governor  Dickerson,  Governor  Cass,  William 
"  B.  Lewis,  Colonel  Bomford,  Mr.  Ellsworth,  and  explained 
"  to  them  the  nature  of  the  difficulty,  and  begged  them 
"  to  see  the  President  and  persuade  him  to  leave  the  placing  of 
' '  the  building  to  the  Commissioners  of  Public  Buildings  and 
"Patents." 

"July  9.  Saw  the  Commissioner  of  Public  Buildings  and 
' '  Commissioner  of  Patents  respecting  plan  of  Patent  Office. ' ' 

"July  10.  Learned  that  the  President  had  left  Washington 
"for  the  Hermitage." 

"July  n.  Received  an  order  from  the  Commissioner  of 
"  Public  Buildings  to  lay  down  upon  the  ground  the  lines  of 
"  the  Patent  Office  according  to  my  plan,  as  the  whole  subject  of 
"  the  proper  placing  of  it  had  been  left  by  the  President  to  his 
"judgment  and  the  Commissioner  of  Patents." 

"July  12.  Laid  down  and  marked  with  pegs  the  lines  of 
"  the  Patent  Office.  Present  Messrs.  Brown,  Wood  and  several 
"  citizens. 

"July  13.  Called  on  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  and 
"  found  Mills  with  him  endeavoring  to  persuade  him  to  have 
' '  the  proportions  of  the  plan  of  the  Patent  Office  considerably 
' '  reduced  in  order  to  cheapen  it,  and  be  able  to  erect  it  for 
"  the  sum  appropriated — portico  to  be  reduced  from  100  to  75 
' '  feet  in  width.  I  remonstrated  against  it  and  finally  pre- 
"  vailed." 


468      PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS. 


4-  Called  at  the  new  Patent  Office  and  found  Mr. 
'  '  Brown  laying  out  the  trenches  for  the  foundation  walls  only 
'  '  four  feet  wide  and  two  feet  deep  which  I  considered  quite 
"  insufficient,  and  so  stated  at  the  time." 

"July  21.  Found  Major  Noland  with  Mr.  Ellsworth  per- 
4  '  suading  him  to  alter  plan  of  the  Patent  Office.  He,  however, 
'  '  did  not  .succeed.  '  ' 

The  following  letter  from  Mr.  Noland,  the  gentleman 
referred  to  in  Mr.  Elliot's  private  journal,  is  of  importance  in 
this  connection  : 

'  '  Office  of  Commissioner  of  Public  Buildings, 

"Dec'm.  2vth,  184.0. 
"WiivUAM  P.  EiJJOT,  Esq. 

'  '  Dear  Sir  :  In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  with  pleas- 
"  ure  state  that  I  was  present  at  the  President's  mansion  in  July, 
"  1836,  when  ex-President  Jackson  adopted  the  plan  presented 
'  '  by  you  for  the  new  Patent  Office  building  and  gave  written 
"  orders  to  that  effect.  I  am  respectfully, 

'  '  Your  obt.  servant, 

"  W.  NOLAND, 
"C.  P.  By 

THE    CONSTRUCTION    COMMENCED. 

The  rebuilding  of  the  Patent  Office  in  accordance  with  the 
plan  of  William  Parker  Elliot's  design  adopted  by  Congress  on 
July  4,  1836,  was  begun  July  12,  1836,  and  four  years  were 
occupied  in  the  completion  of  the  main  or  south  front  portion, 
which  did  not  in  1840  have  the  wings  east  and  west  completed, 
nor  were  they  commenced  at  that  date.  In  1840  the  business 
of  the  Patent  Office  was  transferred  from  the  City  Hall  to  this 
new  structure.  Robert  Mills  was  the  superintending  or  con- 
struction architect  to  carry  out  the  plan  of  Mr.  Elliot,  and  the 
well-known  late  John  P.  Pepper  was  superintendent  under  him. 
The  new  building  was  designed  especially  for  the  use  of  the 
Patent  Office  in  conformity  to  the  new  code  of  patent  laws. 
Among  the  private  papers  of  Mr.  William  P.  Elliot  is  found 
the  very  first  drawing  for  the  foundation,  made  in  pencil  lines, 
doubtless  by  the  hand  of  the  architect,  and  also  other  sketches 
of  earlier  date  than  the  sketch  for  the  foundation,  as  well 


PAPERS  UPON  U.  S,  PA  TENT  OFFICE  TOPICS.      469 

as  estimates  of  costs,  etc. ,  all  of  which  point  to  him  as  the  origi- 
nating architect  of  the  entire  structure  in  its  general  design  as 
it  now  stands  in  its  grandeur  and  beauty,  and  excellent  adapta- 
tion for  the  purposes  it  was  designed  to  subserve. 

William  Parker  Elliot,  the  architect  of  the  Patent  Office, 
was  born  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  January  19,  1807 — died  in  the 
same  city  November  3,  1854.  Had  seven  children,  of  whom 
Miss  Mary  E.  Elliot,  Annie  S.  Lancaster  and  Charles  A.  Elliot 
survive  him.  His  widow,  now  critically  ill,  was  Mary  Ann 
Maher,  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.* 

Mr.  William  P.  Elliot  was  paid  a  small  sum — about  $500 — 
for  his  design  of  the  Patent  Office,  as  the  public  records  show. 
If  you  would  know  him,  look  around  you  and  behold  him 
in  his  works. 

A  description  of  the  finished  building,  with  its  wings,  was 
given  in  one  of  the  papers  of  this  city  in  1867,  as  follows : 

"The  entire  completion  of  the  Patent  Office  building  is  now 
' '  near  at  hand.  Yesterday  the  portico  on  the  North  front  was 
' '  finished,  and  now  there  remains  but  the  granite  steps  on  the 
1 '  North  front  and  the  pavement  on  G  street  to  be  done,  and  this 
"building,  claimed  to  be  the  most  handsome  in  the  world,  so 
"  far  as  architectural  proportions  are  concerned,  will  be,  when 
4 '  completed,  a  standing  monument  to  the  architectural  talent 
"and  mechanical  ability  of  the  country.  In  1849  Thomas 
4 '  Berry  and  Frank  Mohun  entered  into  contract  with  the 
' '  Government  for  the  building  of  the  East  and  West  fronts, 
' '  including  the  granite  and  marble.  Subsequently  Messrs. 
* '  Berry  &  Higgins  contracted  for  the  building  of  the  North 
1  ' front  on  G  street,  and  this  is  the  portion  that  is  now  nearly 
* '  completed.  All  the  marble  used  for  the  extension  of  the 
' '  building  was  obtained  in  Baltimore  county,  Maryland.  The 
4 '  granite  came  from  Rockland,  Maine,  Cape  Ann,  Mass. ,  Con- 
1 '  necticut  and  Maryland.  The  columns  used  in  the  porticos 
"are from  a  quarry  in  Baltimore  county,  Maryland,  and  are 
4 '  pronounced  very  handsome. ' ' 

*Mrs.  Elliot  died  shortly  after  this  paper  was  prepared,  and  the 
writer  served  as  one  of  the  honorary  pall-bearers  at  her  funeral. 


470      PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PA  TENT  OFFICE  TOPICS, 
WRONGFUL   USE   BY   OTHER   BUREAUS. 

At  this  date  the  Patent  Office  building  was  used  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior  for  the  various  bureaus  that  came  under  the 
charge  of  his  department ;  these  included  the  Agricultural, 
Indian,  Land,  Pension,  Patent  and  other  bureaus. 

In  order  to  thus  wrongfully  use  this  building,  necessitated 
the  cutting  up  of  its  interior  arrangement  to  such  an  extent 
that,  instead  of  having  seventy-two  large  and  well  ventilated 
rooms,  there  are  at  the  present  time  two  hundred  and  fifty-two 
rooms  in  the  Patent  Office  building,  ninety-nine  of  which  are 
occupied  by  the  Patent  Office  proper  and  the  remainder  (one 
hundred  and  fifty-three}  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  the 
assistant  Attorney  General,  and  the  General  Land  Office.  The 
result  of  this  misuse  of  the  Patent  Office  has  crowded  the 
officials  of  the  Patent  Office  into  an  insufficient  space  for  per- 
forming their  duties,  and  besides  this,  many  of  the  rooms  oc- 
cupied by  them  are  so  unhealthy  and  illy  ventilated  that  after 
a  few  years  of  service  many  of  these  valuable  and  useful  men 
die  off  rapidly.  This  should  not  be  so,  as  the  Patent  Office 
was  designed  to  be  a  benefit  to  inventors  and  not  a  detriment 
to  their  interests,  nor  a  death-trap  to  the  faithful  servants  of 
the  Government.  It  should  be  set  apart  as  a  monument  to  the 
men  of  genius  who  have  paid  more,  above  the  expenses  for  carry- 
ing it  on,  than  enough  for  its  erection,  as  the  surplus  Patent  fund 
in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  shows.  Justice  also  de- 
mands that  it  should  be  devoted  to  the  interest  of  inventors  and 
the  comfort  of  those  in  charge  of  the  administration  of  the  rights 
of  inventors  ;  and  that  well  lighted  and  ventilated  and  healthy 
accommodations  should  be  provided  for  the  six  hundred  or 
more  officers  employed  in  the  administration  of  the  present 
business  relating  to  patents  for  new  inventions  and  discoveries; 
and  to  this  end  every  other  branch  of  the  Government  should 
be  removed  from  the  Patent  Office  building,  and,  if  the  Govern- 
ment is  too  poor  to  pay  the  cost  of  a  new  building,  let  one 
be  erected  with  the  surplus  Patent  fund  now  in  the  United 
States  Treasury,  amounting  to  about  four  million  dollars. 


PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENl^  OFFICE  TOPICS.       471 

INCREASED   CORPS   OF   EXAMINERS  NEEDED. 

Furthermore,  the  force  of  the  Patent  Office  corps  should  be 
increased  to  at  least  fifty  principal  examiners,  and  as  many  as- 
sistants and  clerks  as  such  increased  force  will  require.  This 
done  and  the  government  fees  somewhat  reduced,  a  step  in  the 
right  direction  in  regard  to  the  rights  of  inventors,  will  have 
been  taken,  and  applications  for  patents  could  be  examined  and 
passed  upon  more  speedily,  and  inventors  thus  no  longer  be 
kept,  by  long  and  vexatious  delays,  out  of  their  rights,  by 
being  deprived  of  the  speedy  grant  of  letters-patent  therefor. 


PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS.      473 


THE  ORIGIN,  NATURE  AND  EFFECT  OF  PATENTS. 
BY  W.  C.  DODGE,  OF  WASHINGTON  CITY,  D.  C. 


It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  for  even  intelligent  persons  to 
think  and  speak  of  patents  as  monopolies,  and  to  class  them 
with  the  ' '  odious  monopolies  ' '  of  former  times. 

A  brief  statement  of  their  origin  and  nature  will  show  that 
such  is  not  the  fact. 

True,  our  modern  system  of  patents  grew  out  of  the  ancient 
system  of  monopolies,  but  they  are  entirely  different  in  their 
nature  and  effect. 

A  monopoly,  which  formerly  meant  "  the  exclusive  right  to 
sell,"  is  a  franchise  created  by  the  Government,  vesting  in  an 
individual  or  corporation  the  exclusive  privilege  of  practising 
a  certain  art,  or  making,  using  or  selling  a  certain  article, 
which,  but  for  such  monopoly,  the  public  at  large  would  have 
the  right  to  exercise. 

This  idea  of  granting  these  exclusive  privileges  originated 
in  the  infancy  of  European  commerce,  when  commercial  ven- 
tures were  attended  with  great  risks  both  to  life  and  capital, 
the  seas  in  those  days  swarming  with  pirates  and  the  land  with 
robbers. 

In  those  days  these  exclusive  grants  were  conferred  by 
monarchs  upon  individuals,  companies  or  particular  cities,  to 
induce  them  to  embark  in  these  hazardous  undertakings. 

As  trade  increased  other  monopolies  were  granted  to  these 
same  companies  or  cities  for  service  rendered  or  money  fur- 
nished to  the  State,  and  in  that  way  they  acquired  a  monopoly 
of  nearly  all  branches  of  trade. 

The  most  famous  of  these  was  the  ' '  Hanseatic  League, ' ' 
composed  of  eighty -five  cities  of  North  Germany,  and 
organized  about  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century,  their 
object  being  the  protection  of  their  commerce  from  the  depre- 
dations of  pirates  and  the  petty  princes,  whose  theory  was  that 
' '  might  makes  right. ' ' 

This  league,  commencing  with  a  few  of  the  leading  cities, 
soon  became  very  powerful,  and  by  its  efforts  suppressed  piracy 
and  opened  new  channels  of  trade  in  various  parts  of  Europe. 


47  4       PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS. 

From  1250  to  1278  it  established  factories  and  depots  in 
Hngland,  Belgium,  Norway  and  Russia,  and  also  had  treaties 
with  the  commercial  cities  of  Holland,  France,  Spain  and 
Italy.  It  established  a  system  of  finance  and  administration 
that  was  of  great  benefit  to  commerce  and  trade,  in  considera- 
tion of  which  it  obtained  special  grants  from  the  leading 
monarchs  of  Europe,  so  that  it  soon  became  the  dominant 
commercial  power  of  the  world,  and  monopolized  nearly  all 
the  trade  of  Europe.  It  became  so  powerful  that  in  1348  it 
fought  and  defeated  the  Kings  of  Sweden,  Norway  and 
Denmark.  It  deposed  Magnus,  King  of  Sweden,  and  gave  his 
crown  to  his  nephew,  Albert,  Duke  of  Mecklenburg.  In  1428 
it  declared  war  against  Denmark  and  equipped  a  fleet  of  248 
ships  with  12,000  soldiers. 

Its  growing  power  and  wealth  excited  the  jealousy  of  the 
monarchs  who  had  conferred  upon  it  the  exclusive  privileges 
by  which  it  had  grown  so  great,  and  as  the  naval  power  of  Hol- 
land and  England  had  greatly  increased,  in  1597  its  special 
privileges  were  withdrawn  by  England,  and  gradually  by  other 
powers  ;  so  that  it  lost  its  power  and  control  of  trade,  and  was 
disbanded  about  1630 — the  monopolies  which  it  had  enjoyed 
being  conferred  upon  subjects  of  these  various  countries,  espe- 
cially in  England. 

At  a  very  early  day  England  manifested  her  solicitude  for 
trade,  and  early  in  the  tenth  century  a  law  was  passed  con- 
ferring upon  every  merchant  who  had  made  three  voyages 
beyond  the  sea  the  dignity  of  ' '  Thane  ' '  ;  and  from  the  time 
of  William  Rufus  special  privileges  were  granted  for  the 
development  of  domestic  trade  ;  and  it  was  under  these  grants 
that  the  powerful  trade  and  merchant  ' '  guilds  ' '  grew  up  and 
flourished  until  they  monopolized  and  controlled  nearly  every 
branch  of  business. 

Up  to  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  foreign  com- 
merce of  England  was  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
foreigners.  From  that  time  their  privileges  were  withdrawn 
and  conferred  on  British  subjects. 

In  the  days  of  the  Saxon  and  Norman  kings  it  was  a  maxim 
of  the  common  law,  that  the  King  had  the  right  to  grant  any 
part  of  the  common  property  of  the  nation  to  one  or  more 
individuals  of  the  nation,  provided  such  grant  would  inure  to 


PAPERS  UPON  U.  &  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS.      475 

the  public  benefit ;  and  under  that  law  grants  were  frequently 
made  to  individuals  of  the  commons  or  waste  lands,  on  the 
theory  that  it  was  for  the  public  good  that  such  lands  should 
be  improved — some  of  the  rights  continuing  to  the  present 
day.  The  idea  was  similar  to  that  of  our  "  homestead  law," 
under  which  a  quarter  section  of  the  public  lands  was  given  to 
any  person  who  would  settle  upon  and  improve  the  same. 

Acting  upon  this  idea  of  promoting  the  public  interests,  and 
more  especially  to  build  up  the  manufacturing  and  commercial 
interests  of  England,  the  British  monarchs  began  granting 
monopolies  for  limited  periods  to  individuals  for  any  trade  or 
manufacture,  not  before  known  or  worked  in  the  realm,  it  being 
thought  that  that  was  the  best  means  for  securing  the  intro- 
duction of  new  branches  of  manufacture  and  commerce, 
experience  having  demonstrated  that  without  some  such  induce- 
ment parties  would  not  be  at  the  trouble,  expense  and  risk  of 
introducing  new  and  untried  branches  of  manufacture. 

In  the  course  of  time  this,  like  all  arbitrary  power,  over- 
stepped its  proper  bounds,  and  these  monarchs  began  to  grant 
for  money,  to  their  favorites,  exclusive  monopolies  of  business 
already  established  in  the  kingdom — business  in  which  people 
generally  had  a  right  to  engage — thus  taking  from  the  public 
at  large  rights  which  belonged  to  it,  and  conferring  them  upon 
particular  individuals  at  the  pleasure  of  the  monarch,  and  that, 
too,  without  any  reference  to  the  public  good. 

This  was  especially  true  of  the  Norman  kings,  and  it  was 
this  arbitrary  exercise  of  kingly  power  in  many  directions, 
which  in  1215  eventuated  in  wresting  from  King  John  that 
great  charter  of  English  liberties — Magna  Charta. 

In  Magna  Charta  it  was  provided  among  other  things  as 
follows : 

"All  merchants,  if  they  were  not  openly  prohibited 
before,  shall  have  their  safe  conduct  to  depart  out  of 
England,  to  come  into  England,  to  tarry  in  and  go  in 
and  through  England,  as  well  by  land  as  by  water,  to 
buy  and  sell  without  any  manner  of  evil  tolls  by  the 
old  and  rightful  customs,  except  in  time  of  war. ' ' 

The  words,  ' '  If  they  were  not  openly  prohibited  before, ' ' 
were  always  understood  and  held  to  mean,  "  if  the  trade  were 
not  prohibited  by  a  monopoly  or  grant  before  it  was  commenced 


476       PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS. 

in  England,"  and  up  to  the  time  of  King  John  this  had  been 
held  to  be  the  only  legal  ground  on  which  such  monopolies 
could  be  granted. 

Five  statutes  in  the  reign  of  Edward  III,  and  one  of  Richard 
II,  reiterate  the  substance  of  this  clause  of  Magna  Charta. 

Notwithstanding  these  repeated  enactments,  the  monarchs  of 
England  continued  to  grant  monopolies  in  violation  of  the  law. 
Queen  Elizabeth  was  a  notorious  offender  in  this  respect.  She 
granted  to  one  of  her  favorites  the  exclusive  right  to  sell  salt  in 
the  kingdom,  to  another  the  sole  right  to  sell  steel,  and  so  on 
with  many  articles  in  common  use,  and  by  which  the  cost  of 
these  articles  to  the  public  was  increased  many  fold,  salt  alone 
being  increased  in  price  from  sixteen  pence  to  fifteen  shillings — 
over  eleven  hundred  per  cent! 

So  intolerable  did  these  abuses  become  that  upon  the  acces- 
sion of  James  I,  in  1602,  Parliament  made  a  declaration  that  the 
King  had  no  right  to  grant  a  monopoly  for  any  trade  or  busi- 
ness already  established  in  the  kingdom,  to  which  the  King 
gave  his  assent.  But  like  his  predecessors,  he  continued  to 
violate  the  law  by  granting  monopolies  to  his  favorites  for 
money,  until  finally,  in  1623,  Parliament  passed  the  famous 
Statute  of  Monopolies. 

This  statute  provided  that  all  licenses  or  privileges  for  the 
sole  buying,  selling  or  working  of  anything,  etc.,  should  be 
void,  with  the  exception  only  that  patents  not  exceeding  four- 
teen years  might  be  granted  to  the  authors  of  new  inventions. 
By  the  decision  of  the  English  courts  anything  not  already 
known  in  the  kingdom  was  held  to  be  a  new  invention,  and 
therefore  patentable.  In  the  celebrated  case  of  monopolies, 
Darcy  vs.  Allen,  decided  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth,  it  was  held 
that: 

"Where  any  man,  by  his  own  charge  or  industry, 
or  by  his  own  wit  or  invention,  doth  bring  any  new 
trade  into  the  realm,  or  any  engine  tending  to  the 
furtherance  of  a  trade  that  was  never  used  before,  and 
that  for  the  good  of  the  realm,  in  such  cases  the  King 
may  grant  to  him  a  monopoly  patent  for  some  reason- 
able time,  until  the  subjects  may  learn  the  same,  in 
consideration  of  the  good  that  he  doth  bring  the  com- 
monwealth ;  otherwise  not. ' ' 


PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS.      477 

The  word  ' '  invention  ' '  was  then  held  to  have  a  meaning  in 
accordance  with  its  primary  derivation  from  in  venire  "to  come 
in",  and  hence  an  inventor  was  one  by  whom  a  new  trade  or 
discovery  came  into  the  kingdom,  whether  it  was  by  importa- 
tion, intuition,  or  by  his  own  careful  working  out. 

By  this  statute  of  Monopolies,  the  grant  of  a  patent  was 
limited  to  new  inventions  ;  and  the  exception  in  their  favor,  it 
will  be  observed,  was  based  solely  upon  the  ground  of  the 
benefits  conferred  thereby  upon  the  nation. 

This  exception  in  the  Statute  of  Monopolies  is  the  founda- 
tion of  the  modern  system  of  patents,  which  has  since  been 
adapted  in  various  forms  by  nearly  every  civilized  nation  of 
the  globe,  and  which  it  is  safe  to  say,  has  been  the  prime 
mover  in  the  marvelous  progress  and  development  of  the  past 
century. 

Our  patent  system  is  based  upon  the  same  idea  of  benefit  to 
the  public,  and  that  idea  is  clearly  expressed  in  the  clause  of 
the  constitution  which  confers  upon  Congress  the  power, 

"To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts, 
by  securing  for  limited  times,  to  authors  and  invent- 
ors, the  exclusive  right  of  their  respective  writings 
and  discoveries." 

It  was  not  primarily  to  benefit  the  individual,  but  to  promote 
the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts  that  this  power  was  con- 
ferred, in  order  that  the  whole  nation  might  have  the  benefit 
of  this  progress — the  benefit  to  the  individual  being  merely  an 
inducement  to  him  to  devote  his  time,  labor,  thought  and 
means  to  aid  in  the  accomplishment  of  this  desired  result  or 
progress,  by  making  new  inventions. 

There  is,  however,  a  marked  difference  between  our  patent 
system  as  embodied  in  our  statutes  and  that  of  England  ;  for 
whereas,  the  English  system  gave  a  patent  to  the  importer  as 
well  as  to  the  inventor,  our  law  gives  it  to  the  "first  and  origi- 
nal inventor"  alone. 

In  order  for  a  person  to  secure  a  patent  here,  the  invention 
must  not  have  been  ' '  patented  or  described  in  any  printed 
publication  in  this  or  any  foreign  country  before  his  invention 
or  discovery  thereof",  and  must  not  have  been  in  public  use 
for  more  than  two  years.  In  other  words,  it  must  be  something 


478        PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS. 

that  is  actually  new  as  against  all  the  world — something  added  to 
the  world's  knowledge  and  possessions.  And  even  then,  the 
grant  is  made  only  upon  the  condition  that  the  inventor  shall 
give  such  a  description  and  illustration  of  his  invention  as  will 
enable  a  person  skilled  in  the  art  to  which  it  belongs,  to  make 
and  use  the  same,  so  that  when  his  patent  expires  the  public 
shall  be  put  in  full  possession  of  the  invention. 

A  patent  is  therefore  simply  a  contract  between  the  Govern- 
ment and  the  inventor,  by  which  the  Government  agrees  that 
if  a  party  will  make  an  invention,  and  so  describe  it  that  the 
public  can  make  and  use  it,  it  will  protect  him  for  a  limited 
time  (now  17  years)  in  the  exclusive  right  to  make,  use  and 
sell  the  same,  a  right  which  I  am  sorry  to  say,  has  not  of  late 
years  been  protected  as  it  ought  to  be. 

From  this  brief  statement  it  will  readily  be  seen  that  there 
is  no  similarity  between  a  U.  S.  patent  and  the  ' '  odious  monop- 
olies" of  former  times.  Under  the  old  system  of  monopolies, 
rights  of  which  the  public  were  already  in  full  possession,  were 
arbitrarily  taken  from  the  public  and  conferred  upon  an  individ- 
ual, to  the  great  injury  of  the  public  at  large.  On  the  contrary, 
under  our  patent  system,  the  inventor  gives  to  the  public  some- 
thing which  it  never  had,  something  which  it  wants,  and  which 
but  for  his  efforts  and  genius  it  might  never  have  had,  or  if 
ever,  not  for  a  long  time  to  come,  not  until  some  other  inventor 
following  on  the  same  line,  and  spurred  on  by  the  same  incen- 
tive, perchance  might  produce. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  why  a  person  who  creates  or 
produces  a  new  thing  or  art,  is  not  naturally  entitled  to  the 
possession  of  it,  as  much  as  he  who  builds  a  house  or  raises  a 
crop  ;  and  many  able  writers  have  so  contended.  An  inven- 
tion however,  differs  from  other  property,  in  that  it  is  more 
intangible,  and  far  more  difficult  to  protect.  As  was  well  said 
by  Commissioner  Holt : 

"  The  citizen  can  take  his  stand  on  the  threshold 
of  his  home,  and  with  his  own  right  arm  beat  back 
those  who  would  invade  it ;  but  the  rights  of  the  in- 
ventor are  co-extensive  with  the  limits  of  the  Repub- 
lic, and  may  be  assailed  at  a  thousand  points  at  the 
same  instant  of  time.  The  eyes  of  Argus  would  not 
suffice  to  discover,  nor  the  arms  of  Briareus  suffice  to 


PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS.       479 

resist  the  assaults  of  so  omnipresent  a  foe  as  it  is  his 
lot  to  encounter.     The  insolence  and  unscrupulous- 
ness  of  capital,  subsidizing  and  leading  on  its  mer- 
cenary minions  in  the  work  of  pirating  some  valuable 
invention  held  by  powerless  hands,  can  scarcely  be 
conceived  of  by  those  not  familiar  with  the  subject." 
For  these  among  other  reasons,  all  civilized  nations  have 
adopted  the  present   system  of  giving   to  the    inventor  who 
complies  with  the  statutory  conditions,   a  patent  for  a  brief 
period  only. 

Said  Lord  Bacon  : 

* '  The  introduction  of  new  inventions  seemeth  to  be 
the  very  chief  of  all  human  actions.  The  benefits  of 
new  inventions  may  extend  to  all  mankind  universally; 
while  the  good  of  political  achievements  can  respect 
but  some  particular  cantons  of  men  ;  these  latter  do 
not  endure  above  a  few  ages,  the  former  forever. 
Inventions  make  all  men  happy,  without  injury  to 
any  one  single  person.  Futhermore,  they  are,  as  it 
were,  new  creations  and  imitations  of  God's  own 
works. ' ' 
As  was  well  said  by  Hon.  W.  H.  Seward  : 

"The  exercise  of  the  inventive  faculty  is  the  near- 
est akin  to  that  of  the  Creator  of  any  faculty  possessed 
by  the  human  mind  ;  for,  while  it  does  not  create  in 
the  sense  that  the  Creator  did,  yet  it  is  the  nearest 
approach  to  it  of  anything  known  to  man." 
"Invention,"  says  Mr.  Ray,  "is  the  only  power  on  earth 
that  can  be  said  to  create.     It  enters  as  an  essential  element 
into  the  process  of  the  increase  of  national  wealth,  because  that 
process  is  a  creation  and  not  a  mere  acquisition.     Hence  the 
most  frequent  cause  of  the  increase  of  the  national  wealth  is 
the  increase  of  the  skill,  dexterity  and  judgment,  and  the  me- 
chanical inventions  by  which  national  labor  is  applied." 

No  better  evidence  of  the  truth  of  this  statement  can  be 

required  than  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  United  States 

as  compared  with  that  of  other  nations  during  the  past  century. 

Under  the  stimulus  of  our  patent  system,  American  inventors 

have  given  to  the  world  the  cotton  gin,  the  planing  machine 


480      PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS. 

and  wood  and  metal- working  machines  of  all  kinds,  the  sewing 
machine,  the  lathe  for  turning  irregular  forms,  the  perfected 
steam  engine  and  locomotive,  the  air  brake  and  automatic 
couplers,  the  palace  and  sleeping  car,  the  street  car,  the  steam- 
boat, the  modern  plow,  the  harvester  and  automatic  binder,  the 
elevator,  the  typewriter,  the  friction  match,  the  perfected  print- 
ing press,  vulcanized  rubber  in  its  myriad  applications,  boot 
and  shoe  machinery,  the  revolver,  the  machine  gun,  the  Moni- 
tor with  its  revolving  turret,  the  telegraph,  the  telephone,  the 
electric  light,  the  electric  motor,  the  insulation  of  electric  con- 
ductors, without  which  the  ocean  cable  were  an  impossibility, 
and  innumerable  other  inventions  by  which  machinery  is  made 
to  do  the  work  of  human  hands,  and  contribute  to  the  comfort 
and  happiness  of  humanity. 

In  the  words  of  Commissioner  Holt : 

11  The  class  of  men  who  have  given  to  their  native 
land  and  to  the  world  these  grand  inventions  whose 
beneficent  influences  tell  with  measureless  power  upon 
every  pulsation  of  our  domestic,  social,  and  com- 
•mercial  life,  are  indeed  public  benefactors,  and  may 
well  be  pardoned  for  believing  that  their  wants  should 
not  be  treated  with  entire  indifference  by  that  body 
which  represents  alike  the  intellect  and  heart,  as  it 
does  the  material  interests  of  the  great  country  of 
which  they  are  citizens." 
Well  did  Commissioner  Fisher  say  : 

* '  No  class  of  our  citizens  have  done  more  for  the 
glory  and  prosperity  of  the  nation  than  the  inventors 
and  mechanics  of  the  United  States,  and  they  have 
never  been  favored  children. ' ' 

What  is  now  needed  is  the  perfection  of  the  system,  better 
and  more  complete  means  for  carrying  it  on,  and  more  effectual 
means  for  protecting  the  inventor. 

Surely,  no  person  who  has  studied  the  subject,  and  has  any 
just  conception  of  what  the  system  has  done  and  is  doing  for 
the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  country  and  the  world,  can 
for  a  moment  question  its  beneficence,  or  ever  again  class  it 
with  the  "odious  monopolies  "  of  former  times. 


PAPERS  UPON  U.  S,  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS.       481 


THE  MINOR  INVENTIONS  OF  THE  CENTURY. 
BY  JAMES  Iv.  BWIN,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


It  is  well  understood  that  the  recent  centennial  celebration 
was  intended  to  celebrate  our  Patent  System  and  its  fruits  in 
general,  rather  than  specific  inventions.  Many  individual 
inventions  were,  however,  necessarily  referred  to  as  types  and  by 
way  of  illustration.  Some  of  those  which  I  did  not  hear  men- 
tioned appear  to  me  sufficiently  striking  and  characteristic  of 
the  century  to  render  some  recognition  of  them  essential  to  a 
just  and  complete  review. 

Those  which  have  suggested  themselves  as  of  this  class 
include  the  following,  viz  : 

1.  The  Phonograph  and  the  Graphophone,  as  among  the 
most  amazing  inventions   of  the  past   century,   rendering   it 
possible  to   transmit   sounds  of  every  description,   including 
human  speech  and  song,  farther  than  the  telephone  is  yet  able 
to  transmit  them,  and   to  preserve  them  from  generation  to 
generation,  indefinitely,  so  as  to  be  reproduced  at  will. 

2.  The  myriad  Coin- Actuated  Machines,  or  "  Nickel-in- the- 
slot  "  Machines,  as  they  are  familiarly  termed,  illustrating  the 
boundless  fertility  of  that  class  of  inventors  who  need  a  seed- 
thought  from  some  one  else  to  begin  with,  but  given  this  pro- 
duce wonders. 

3.  The  Fare- Register,  in  its  various  forms,  which   Colonel 
F.  A.  Seely  has  termed  ' '  A  mechanical  conscience  for  street-car 
conductors."     Of  the  numerous  types  of  these  machines,  two 
are  marvels  of  perfect  construction  and  adaptation.     I  refer  (a) 
to  the   "bell-punch,"    which,  in   connection  with  the  noted 
"trip-slips"    of    the    newspaper    paragraphs,     provides    for 
registering  any  variety  of  fares,  transfers  and  passes,  by  one 
and  the  same  simple  device  carried  on  the  conductor's  person, 
and  (b)  to  what  is  distinctively  known  as  the  "  permanent  "  fare- 
register  or  passenger-register,  which  in  one  make  at  least  is  so 
guarded  against  fraudulent  manipulation  that  the  conductor  is 
provided  with  means  for  wiping  out  the  record  against  him  on 


482       PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS. 

the  face  of  the  machine,  by  resetting  the  trip-register  or 
primary  counting  device  to  zero  at  will,  without  any  danger 
that  he  can  thus  prevent  the  machine  from  keeping  a  correct 
and  unmistakable  tally  of  every  fare  he  has  ' '  rung  up. "  Very 
ingenious  recorders  have  also  been  patented  and  reduced  to 
practical  use,  whereby  the  record  of  each  trip  of  a  street-car 
or  like  vehicle  is  obtained  on  paper  in  a  permanent  form. 

4.  The  cheap  time-pieces  which  the  century  has  produced, 
enabling  the  poorest  boy,  if  so  disposed,  to  carry  a  real  watch 
that  will  keep  fairly  good  time,  a  good  office  clock,  with  alarm 
and  calendar  attachments,  to  be  obtained  for  two  or  three  dol- 
lars,  and   a   split- second    "stop-watch"    suitable   for   timing 
horses  or  machinery,  to  be  obtained  for  as  little  as  six  dollars. 

5.  The  wonderful  improvements  in  weighing  scales,  dynamo- 
meters,  testing  machines,   and   the  like,   which  have  distin- 
guished the  century.     One  of  the  members  of  the  recent  Con- 
gress was  Mr.  Albert  H.  Emery,  whose  inventions  in  this  line 
deserve  recognition,  if  no  others.     (See  Plate  XLJX  in  Knight's 
New  Mechanical  Dictionary,    and   the    accompanying   letter- 
press.) 

6.  Cycles — the  various  forms  of  "  The  Wheel,"  now  ridden 
by  ladies  as  well  as  gentlemen,  and  by  old  men  and  children 
as  well  as  the  young  and  athletic. 

7.  Cash  registers  and  cash-railways  or  store-service  appa- 
ratus, as  conspicuous  contributions  to  mercantile  "machinery." 

8.  Some  of  the  wonderful  achievements  in  textile  machinery, 
other  than  the  sewing-machine  and  the  power-loom,  whose  in- 
ventors received  due  recognition.     A  member  of  the  Congress 
communicated  to  me  the  very  interesting  history  of  the  intro- 
duction of  the  manufacture  of  a  French  fabric  into  this  country, 
and  the  multiplication  of  the  population  of  a  New  England 
neighborhood  by  fifty  within  a  few  years,  as  the  results  of  an 
almost  microscopic  invention,  developed  for  another  purpose. 

9.  Photolithography,  and  the  various  other  arts  whereby  the 
unerring  sun  is  made  to  do  the  work  of  countless  artistic  fingers 
with  a  degree  of  perfection  which  could  not  possibly  be  reached 
by  human  skill. 

I  was  not  able  to  attend  all  the  public  sessions,  nor  to  remain 
throughout  all  I  did  attend ;  and  omissions  were  made  to  save 


PAPERS  UPON  U.  S.  PATENT  OFFICE  TOPICS.      483 

time  in  reading  some  of  the  papers.  It  is,  therefore,  quite 
possible  that  some  of  the  above  inventions  may  have  been  in- 
cluded by  some  of  the  able  essayists.  It  is  not  probable,  how- 
ever, that  all  the  countless  ' '  minor  inventions  of  the  century, ' ' 
as  they  may  be  termed,  were  even  suggested  to  the  average  in- 
ventor or  manufacturer,  and  some,  if  not  all,  of  those  here 
mentioned  may  have  been  omitted.  Others  will  doubtless  sug- 
gest themselves  to  every  intelligent  reader  who  knows  anything 
of  what  has  been  accomplished  in  his  individual  sphere  by  that 
wonderful  human  endowment  known  as  Inventive  Genius. 


DIED  AT  PORTLAND,  MAINE, 

JULY  2  IST,  1892, 
HONORABLE    JOHN    LYNCH, 

Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee, 

PATENT  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 


Intelligence  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Lynch  having  been  received 
by  the  Committee  while  it  was  in  session,  the  following  resolu- 
tion was  placed  on  its  records  and  ordered  printed  in  the 
Memorial  Volume  : 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Patent  Centennial  Celebration  deplore  the  loss  of  their  associate,  whose 
sagacious  counsel  and  efficient  co-operation  has  proven  of  the  greatest 
value,  not  only  to  the  Committee,  but  to  all  interests  related  to  the 
American  Patent  System. 


SUBSCRIBERS 

TO   THE  GUARANTEE   FUND 

PATENT  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 


Washington,  D.  C.— Albright  &  Barker,  W.  L.  Aughinbaugh,  J.  W. 
Babson,  Baldwin,  Davidson  &  Wight,  A.  L.  Barber,  C.  J.  Bell,  Alex- 
ander Graham  Bell,  Gustav  Bissing,  W.  H.  Blodgett,  Britton  &  Gray 
Wm.  Burke,  J.  U.  Burket  &  Company,  B.  F.  Butterworth,  Henry 
Calver,  Benj.  R.  Catlin,  Chesapeake  &  Potomac  Telephone  Company, 
Church  &  Church,  H.  N.  Copp,  Corson  &  McCartney,  L.  Deane,  Devine 
&  Keeuan,  W.  C.  Dodge  &  Sons,  P.  T.  Dodge,  W.  H.  Doolittle,  H.  H. 
Doubleday,  Dubois  &  Dubois,  O.  E.  Duffy,  Wm.W  .  Dudley,  Schuyler 
Duryee,  R.  G.  Dyrenforth,  Jno.  Joy  Bdson,  M.  G.  Emery,  Evening  Star 
Newspaper  Company,  Jas.  L.  Ewin,  Fava,  Naeff  &  Company,  R.  W. 
Fenwick,  W.  F.  Fitzgerald,  Foster  &  Freeman,  Chas.  H.  Fowler,  Oscar 
C.  Fox,  N.  L.  Frothinghani,  Lawrence  Gardner,  Gedney  &  Roberts, 
Gibson  Bros,  J.  H.  Gridley,  Gurley  &  Stevens,  Jno.  J.  Halsted,  Charles 
W.  Handy,  M.  D.  Helm,  W.  G.  Henderson,  Herman  Hollerith,  George  H. 
Howard,  Gardiner  Greene  Hubbard,  Frank  D.  Johns,  Lewis  Johnson  & 
Company,  Walter  Johnson,  Johnson  &  Johnson,  Johnston,  Reinohl  & 
Dyre,  George  W.  Knox,  R.  S.  &  A.  P.  Lacey,  James  B.  Lambie,  W.  R. 
Lapham,  F.  A.  Lehman,  George  E.  Lemon,  J.  R.  Littell,  T.  W.  Lord, 
Marble,  Mason  &  Canfield,  E.  M.  Marble,  J.  B.  Marvin,  Louis  W. 
Maxson,  George  C.  Maynard,  Joseph  K.  McCammon,  W.  C.  Mclntire 
Charles  E.  Mitchell,  National  Bank  of  the  Republic,  Norris  Peters 
Company,  Henry  Orth,  Paine  &  Ladd,  M.  M.  Parker,  Henry  V.  Parsell', 
Potomac  Terra  Cotta  Company,  Prindle  &  Russell,  W.  E.  Prall,  Eugene  , 
Peters,  Riggs  &  Company,  T.  E.  Roeselle,  Royce  &  Marean,  George 
Ryneal,  Jr.,  H.  P.  Sanders,  F.  A.  Seely,  G.  D.  Seely,  W.  H.  Selden,  W. 
H.  Singleton,  Wm.  R.  Singleton,  A.  M.  Smith,  C.  A.  Snow  &  Company, 
F.  C.  Somes,  Ellis  Spear,  A.  R.  Spofford,  O.  G.  Staples,  E.  J.  Stell- 
wagen,  W.  Stevens,  V.  D.  Stockbridge,  Stoddart  &  Company,  M.  C. 
Stone,  J.  C.  &  F.  E.  Tasker,  A.  A.  Thomas,  John  W.  Thompson,  W.  W. 
Townsend,  John  T.  Trego,  Edward  R.  Tyler,  B.  H.  Warner  &  Company, 
B.  H.  Warder,  J.  Elfreth  Watkins,  Washington  &  Georgetown  Railroad 
Company,  Welcker's  Hotel,  Roger  Welles,  M.  I.  Weller,  Whitman  & 
Wilkinson,  John  B.  Wight,  Thomas  Wilson,  Whitaker  &  Prevost, 
Woodward  &  Lothrop,  E.  W.  Woodruff,  Oscar  Woodward,  Wormley's 
Hotel,  E.  F.  Woodbury,  L.  B.  Wynne. 


488 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 


New  York  City.—  Empire  City  Electric  Company,  E.  S.  Greeley  & 
Company,  Wm.  McMichael,  Munn  &  Company,  M.  B.  Phillipp,  L,.  W. 
Serrell,  Wyckoff,  Seamans  &  Benedict. 

Philadelphia. — Howson  &  Howson,  Philadelphia  Typewriter  Com- 
pany. 

Boston. — American  Bell  Telephone  Company,  G.  W.  Gregory. 
Bethlehem,  Pa. — The  Bethlehem  Iron  Company. 
Fort  Wayne,  /«</.— Chas.  S.  Bradley. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  CONGRESS 

OF 

INVENTORS   AND   MANUFACTURERS 

ASSEMBLED  AT  WASHINGTON  CITY,  U,  S,  A, 

April  8,  9,  10,  1891, 

To  Celebrate   tl\e   Begir\r\ir)g   of  tl\e  Second  Ceqtury   of 
tl\e  flrqericaq  Patent  Systerq. 


ALABAMA. 
Dudley,  Chas.  J.,  Mobile.  Hunger,  R.  S.,  Birmingham. 

CALIFORNIA. 

Beach,  Jas.  B.,  Routiers.  Hallidie,  A.  S.,  San  Francisco. 

Dow,  Geo.  B. ,  San  Francisco.  Spiers,  James,  San  Francisco. 

COLORADO. 
Luckenbach,  F.  A.,  Denver. 


CONNECTICUT. 


Andrews,  Albert  F.,  Avon. 
Anthony,  W.  A.  Manchester. 
Ayres,  Bdw.  F.,  New  Canaan. 
Bartlett,  John  P.,  New  Britain. 
Beach,  John  K.,  New  Haven. 
Becker,  B.  B.,  Westville. 
Billings,  C.  B.,  Hartford. 
Bishop,  T.  S.,  New  Britain. 
Brent,  Richard  A.,  Bridgeport. 
Carpenter,  D.  H.,  New  Haven. 


Crane,  Walter  B.,  Hartford. 
Con  well,  John  P.,  Kensington. 
Cowles,  R.  P.,  New  Haven. 
Bmery,  A.  H.,  Stamford. 
Gatling,  R.  J.,  Hartford. 
Hart,  W.  H.,  New  Britain. 
Higginbottom,  Chas.  T.,  Thomaston. 
Howard,  Jas.  I,.,  Hartford. 
Hoyt,  L.  H.,  Danbury. 
Jones,  Horace  K.,  Hartford. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 


489 


CONNECTICUT — continued. 
Loomis,  Burdett,  Hartford.  Shepard,  Jas.,  New  Britain. 

Stiles,  N.  C.,  Middletown. 
Toof,  Edwin  J.,  New  Haven. 
Trant,  Justus  A.,  New  Britain. 
Upson,  Iv.  A.,  Thompson ville. 
Wiley,  Wm.  H.  Hartford. 
DELAWARE. 


Merrow,  J.  M.,  Hartford. 
Peck,  Charles,  New  Britain. 
Platt,  O.  H.,  Meriden. 
Pratt,  F.  A.,  Hartford. 
Richards,  F.  H.,  Hartford. 


Allen,  Walter 

Ashley,  J.  A. 

Aughinbaugh,  W.  L. 

Automatic  Machine  Company. 

Avery,  Robert  Stanton 

Babson,  J.  W. 

Baker,  Henry  E. 

Baldwin,  Davidson  &  Wight. 

Barbour,  James  F. 

Bailey,  M.  B. 

Bartlett,  W.  A. 

Becker,  Joseph 

Bell,  Alexander  Graham 

Bell,  C.  J. 

Berdan,  H. 

Berliner,  E. 

Billings,  John  S. 

Birnie,  Rogers 

Bissing,  Gustav 

Blatchford  Samuel 

Blodgett,  W.  H. 

Booth,  Edw.  H. 

Bowen,  Chas.  H. 

Bowles,  John 

Britton,  A.  T. 

Brock,  Chas.  E. 

Brown,  Austin  P. 

Browne,  A.  B. 

Browne,  F.  L. 

Browne,  Hugh  M. 

Buckelew,  J.  R. 

Burke,  W.  M. 

Burket,  J.  U.  &  Co. 

Butterworth,  W. 

Byrn,  K.  W. 


Hope,  S.  W.,  Dover. 
DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA. 

(Washington  City.) 

Byrnes,  E.  A. 
'    Cabell,  W.  D. 
Calver,  Henry 
Calver,  Wm.j 
Catlin,  Benj.  R. 
Chander,  F.  E.  &  Co. 
Chatard,  Thos.  M. 
Choate,  Columbus  D. 
Chogwill,  F.  M. 
Church  &  Church. 
Cole,  F.  L. 
Cook,  Geo.  W. 
Cox,  W.  Van  Zandt 
Cranford,  H.  L. 
Critic  Record,  The 
Davis,  Lewis  J. 
Deane,  L. 
De  Grain,  R.  F. 
de  Schweinitz,  E.  A. 
Dewey,  Frederic  P. 
Dietrick,  F.  G. 
Dodge,  P.  T. 
Dodge,  W.  C. 
Dodge,  W.  W. 
Doolittle,  W.  H. 
Doubleday,  H.  H. 
Dowling,  Thos.  Jr. 
Du  Bois,  J.  T. 
Du  Bois,  R.  G. 
Duffy,  O.  E. 
Dyer,  Frank  L. 
Edson,  Jos.  R. 
Elliott,  W.  St.  Jean 
Ellis,  E.  Everett 
Ely,  G.  S. 


490 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 


DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA — continued. 


Emery,  M.  G. 
Evans,  A.  H. 
Evans,  Geo.  W. 
Everett,  H.  S. 
Ewin,  Jas.  L. 
Fava,  Francis  R.,  Jr. 
Fenwick,  R.  W. 
Finckel,  Wm.  H. 
Fisher,  Robert  J. 
Fisher,  S.  F. 
Fitzgerald,  W.  T. 
Foote,  Allen  R. 
Foster  &  Freeman. 
Forney,  E.  O. 
Fowler,  Chas.  H. 
Fowler,  Francis 
Fox,  Oscar  C. 
Fraser,  Daniel 
French,  Wm.  B. 
Frothingham,  N.  L. 
Fryer,  Robert  M. 
Fuller,  M.  M. 
Gallaudet,  E.  M. 
Gait,  M.  W. 
Gardner,  L. 
Garrett,  H. 
Georges,  J.  J. 
Gill,  Theo.  N. 
Goode,  G.  Brown 
Gould,  C.  G. 
Graves,  D.  H. 
Greene,  Wallace 
Gregg,  M.  E. 
Gridley,  James  H. 
Hains,  Robt.  P. 
Halsted,  John  J. 
Harding,  Miss 
Harrover,  John  J. 
Hart,  A.  W. 
Hayden,  John  J. 
Helm,  M.  D. 
Henderson,  W.  G. 
Herman,  Robt. 
Hill,  Chas.  J. 
Hoge,  Thos. 


Hollerith,  Herman 

Hopkins,  Thos.  S. 

Howard,  Geo.  H. 

Howard,  H.  J.  M. 

Hough,  Walter 

Hubbard,  Gardiner  Greene 

Hubbel,  Wm.  Wheeler 

Hudson,  T.  J. 

Hume,  Frank 

Hyer,  John  D. 

Ingram,  Thos.  D. 

Jones,  Chas.  S. 

Johns,  Frank  D. 

Johnson,  E.  Kurtz 

Johnson,  E.  W. 

Johnson  &  Johnson. 

Johnston,  T.  J. 

Johnston,  Reinohl  &  Dyre. 

Johnson,  Walter 

Joyce,  Maurice 

Kauffman,  S.  H. 

Kelly,  D.  J. 

Kemp,  J.  R. 

Kenaday,  A.  M. 

King,  Harry 

Kinnan,  A.  F. 

Knight,  Wm.  E. 

Lake,  Wilmot 

Lane,  C.  H. 

Langley,  S.  P. 

Lamb,  D.  S. 

Lehmann,  F.  A. 

Lemon,  Geo.  E. 

Lord,  T.  W. 

Loring,  G.  B. 

Lowrey,  W. 

Lyman,  Chas. 

Lynch,  John 

Lyons,  Jos. 

Marrill,  J.  H. 

Marvin,  J.  B. 

Masius,  Alfred  G. 

Mason,  Otis  T. 

Maynard,  Geo.  C. 

Maynard,  Edward 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 


491 


DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA — continued. 


Maxson,  Louis  W. 

McCammon,  Jos.  K. 

McDonald,  Marshall 

Mclntire,  Wm.  C. 

McLean,  Nichol  &  Dorsey. 

Meade,  R.  W. 

Meigs,  M.  C. 

Mertz,  Edward  P. 

Moore,  M.  J. 

Morgan,  T.  J. 

Morris,  Ballard  N. 

Morrison,  R.  A. 

Mullin,  Rafael 

Mussey,  R.  D. 

Nevius,  Burnet  L.,  Jr. 

Nixon,  G.  A. 

Norton,  W.  T. 

Nott,  Wilford  E. 

Nottingham,  J.  R, 

Ordway,  N.  G. 

Ormsby,  D.  G. 

Orrick,  W.  W. 

Orth,  Henry 

Paine,  H.  E. 

Parker,  M.  M. 

Parsell,  Henry  V. 

Parsell,  N.  V. 

Peck,  M.  D. 

Peck,  S.  &  E. 

Pennie  &  Goldsborough. 

Peters,  Eugene 

Pierce,  P.  B. 

Pilling,  J.  W. 

Pole,  B.  C. 

Poor,  John  C. 

Prindle  &  Russell. 

Rafter,  G.  S. 

Reeves,  E.  H. 

Reynolds,  Lucius  E. 

Rice,  Jas.  Q. 

Richards  &  Company. 

Richardson,  Charles  H. 

Riley,  Saml. 

Ritter,  F.  W.,  Jr. 

Rivers,  Jose  R.  de  Rivas  Y. 


Roane,  L.  B. 
Robert,  Henry  M. 
Ruebsam,  John  E. 
Ryan,  Matthew 
Saavedra,  Rodrigo 
Sanders,  H.  P. 
Seaton,  Malcolm 
Scott,  Alex. 
Seely,  F.  A. 
Seely,  Geo.  D. 
Seymour,  H.  A. 
Shellabarger,  Samuel 
Sherwood,  Henry 
Siggers,  E.  G. 
Simpson,  G.  R. 
Skidmore,  Jas.  L. 
Skinner,  F.  C. 
Slocum,  H.  F. 
Smillie,  Thos.  W. 
Smith,  Arthur  St.  A. 
Somes,  F.  C. 
Spear,  Ellis 
Spofford,  A.  R. 
Springer,  Ruter  W. 
St.  Clair,  F.  O. 
Stevens,  W.  X. 
Steward,  Thos.  G. 
Stockbridge,  V.  D. 
Stoddart  &  Co. 
Stone,  M.  C. 
Sturtevant,  Chas.  L. 
Sunderland,  Byron 
Tainter,  Chas.  S. 
Tasker,  Fred  E. 
Taylor,  Thomas 
Thompson,  W.  B. 
Toner,  J.  M. 
Towusend,  W.  W. 
Tryon,  F.  M. 
Turpin,  P.  B. 
Tweedale,  John 
Tyler,  Amilia 
Tyler,  E.  R. 
Tyler,  R.  D.  S. 
Van  Dorsten,  A.  W. 


492  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 

DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA— continued. 

Voorhees,  John  H.  Wirth,  Joseph 

Walcott,  Chas.  D.  Whitaker,  E.  W. 

Warner,  B.  H.  Whitaker  &  Prevost. 

Watkins,  J.  Blfreth  White,  H.  K. 

Welles,  Roger]  White,  John  H. 

Wight,  Lloyd  B.  Whitman,  Chas.  E. 

Wilkinson,  A.  G.  Whittlesey,  Geo.  P. 

Wilkinson,  Ernst  Wolf,  S.  &  Company. 

Willitts,  Edwin  Woodward,  Oscar 

Wilson,  A.  A.  Woodward,  R.  S. 

Wilson,  Davies  Wright,  Carroll  D. 

Wilson,  Thomas  Wynne,  Lewis  B. 

Wires,  M.  D.  Zeigler,  W.  R. 

GEORGIA. 

Emme,  Michael,  Atlanta.  Nunn,  R.  J.,  Savannah. 

Stallings,  W.  H.,  Augusta. 

ILLINOIS. 

Alston,  W.  H.,  Adrian.  Gray,  Elisha,  Highland  Park. 

Anderson,  J.  C.,  Highland  Park.        McMahon,  P.  J.,  Chicago. 
Beach,  F.  G.,  Evanston.  Shipman,  M.  D.,  De  Kalb. 

Blunt,  Jno.  E-,  Chicago.  Smith,  Lyman,  Chicago. 

Emerson,  Talcott  &  Co.,  Rockford.  Towle,  H.  S.,  Chicago. 
Farm  Implement  News,  Chicago.      Willetts,  Ward  W.,  Chicago. 
Goodrich,  Harry  C.,  Chicago.  Willing,  H.  J.,  Chicago. 

Gormully,  R.  Philip,  Chicago.  Zimmerman,  Wm.,  Chicago. 

INDIANA. 

Bradford,  Chester,  Indianapolis.  Gray,  Thomas,  Terre  Haute. 
Bradley,  Chas.  S  ,  Fort  Wayne.  Pine,  Leighton,  South  Bend. 
Dodds,  E.,  Indianapolis.  Ridpath,  John  Clark,  Greencastle. 

Dodge,  W.  H.,  Mishawaka.  Smith,  R.  D.  O.,  Mishawaka. 

IOWA. 

Gilman,  Chas.  Carroll,  Eldora.  Novatory,  Jno.  West  Cedar  Rapids 

Moseley,  C.  S.,  Dubuque.  White,  Wm.  K.,  Davenport. 

KANSAS. 

Brunning,  Chas.  E.,  Concordia.          Fouquet,  Leon  C.,  Andale. 

KENTUCKY. 

Maret,  James,  Mount  Vernon. 

MAINE. 

Davis,  M.  F.,  Portland.  Keefe,  Francis,  Eliot. 

Farmer,  Moses  G.,  Eliot.  Perrin,  N.  G.  M.,  Portland. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 


493 


MARYLAND. 


Griscom,  F.  R.,  Annapolis. 
Baron,  Bernhard,  Baltimore. 
Boyden,  G.  A.,  Baltimore. 
Brosius,  S.  G.,  Baltimore. 
Cassard,  Harry  L-,  Baltimore. 
Clotworthy,  W.  P.,  Baltimore. 
Hoen,  Ernest,  Baltimore. 
Lansburg,  Max.,  Baltimore. 
Mackey,  Saml.  W.,  Baltimore. 
Mann,  Chas.  B.,  Baltimore. 


Newitt,  Edward,  Baltimore. 
Owens,  Benj.  B.,  Baltimore. 
Parker,  John  H.,  Baltimore. 
Patten,  John,  Baltimore. 
Porter,  F.  E.,  Baltimore. 
Price,  Benj.,  Baltimore. 
Ries,  Elias  E.,  Baltimore. 
Steuart,  Arthur,  Baltimore. 
Stevens,  Francis  P.,  Baltimore. 
Weems,  David  G.,  Baltimore. 


MASSACHUSETTS. 


Blodgett,  G.  R.,  Boston. 
Bray,  Millin,  Boston. 
Brown,  C.  F.,  Boston. 
Burton,  Geo.  D.,  Boston. 
Clark  &  Raymond,  Boston. 
Dolbear,  A.  E.,  Boston. 
Easte,  Charles  H.,  Arlington. 
Edwards,  John  C.,  Boston. 
Graton,  H.  C.,  Worcester. 
Gregory,  Geo.  W.,  Boston. 
Griffin,  Eugene.  Boston. 


Johnson,  Iver,  Worcester. 
Knight,  Geo.  H.,  Northampton. 
Lefavour,  Woodbury  P.,  Beverley, 
Lockwood,  Thos.  D.,  Boston. 
Lombard,  Nathan  C.,  Boston. 
Mellen,  E.  D.,  Cambridgeport. 
Naramore,  Henry  L.,  Sharon. 
Plimpton,  Henry  R.,  Boston. 
Plimpton,  James  L.,  Boston. 
Rotch,  A.  Lawrence,  Boston. 
Simonds,  Geo.  F.,  Fitchburgh. 


Hathaway,  Thos.  II.,  New  Bedford.  Sweet,  Henry  N.,  Boston. 


Hays,  H.  V.,  Boston. 
Howard,  Wm.  H.,  Lowell. 
Howe,  Elmer  P.,  Boston. 
Hudson,  John  E.,  Boston. 
Hyslop,  John,  Jr.,  Abington. 
Jackson,  Wm.,  Boston. 


Tapley  Machine  Co.,  Boston. 
Thomson,  Elihu,  Swainpscott. 
Trask,  Chas.  H.,  Lynn. 
Wheelock,  Jerome,  Worcester. 
Whitcomb,  G.  Henry,  Worcester. 


MICHIGAN. 

Church,  Melvin  B.,  Grand  Rapids.  Leggett,  Wells  W.,  Detroit. 

Fritz,  Theo.  H.,  Cass  City.  Smith,  Jesse  M.,  Detroit. 

Kirby,  Frank  E.,  Detroit.  Temple,  A.  F.,  Muskegon. 
Land,  C.  H.,  Detroit. 

MINNESOTA. 

Beaupre,  B.,  St.  Paul. 

MISSISSIPPI. 
Mulvihill,  M.  J.,  Vicksburg. 


Higdon,  John  C.,  St.  Louis. 
Medart,  Philip,  St.  Louis. 


MISSOURI. 

Moody,  C.  D.,  St.  Louis. 
Sickels,  F.  E.,  Kansas  City. 


494  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 

NEBRASKA. 

Chase,  Champion  S.,  Omaha.  Rosewater,  Andrew,  Omaha. 

Way,  D.  C.,  Ord. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

Smyth,  David  M.,  Northwood. 

NEW  JERSEY. 

Battin,  Lambert  B.,  Elizabeth.  Leslie,  Edward,  Paterson. 

Benners,  Edwin  H.,  Elizabeth.  Marsh,  Riverius,  New  Brunswick. 

Burgdorff,  Theo.  F.,  Newark.  Mclntire,  C.  H.,  Newark. 

Cory,  A.  M.,  New  Providence.  Moore,  D.  G.,  Elizabeth. 

Cuntz,  Johannes  H.,  Hoboken.  Mumford,  E.  H.,  Elizabeth. 

Diehl,  Philip,  Elizabeth.  Nishwity,  F.,  Millington. 

Edison,  Thos.  A.,  Orange.  Rice,  John  V.,  Edgewater  Park. 

Fearey,  Fredk.  I.,  Newark.  Roemer,  Wm.,  Newark. 

Hanes,  John,  Woodstown.  Searles,  Anson,  Newark. 

Hay  ward,  H.  S.,  Jersey  City.  Smith,  Oberlin,  Bridgeton. 

Hoffecker,  W.  L.,  Elizabeth.  Stockly,  Geo.  W.,  Lakewood. 

Keasbey,  A.  Q.,  Newark.  Van  Hovenberg,  Alfred  A.,  Paterson 

NEW  YORK. 

Allen,  John  F.,  New  York  City.         Cochran,  F.  B.,  New  York  City. 
Allison,  O.  W.,  Rochester.  Cogswell,  W.  B.,  Syracuse. 

Almond,  Thos.  R.,  Brooklyn.  Crook,  Abel,  New  York  City. 

Baird,  John,  New  York  City.  Crosby,  G.  S.,  Buffalo. 

Barber,  A.  L.,  New  York  City.  Crowell,  Luther  C.,  Brooklyn. 

Barnes,  Lucien,  Syracuse.  Davids,  Charles  H.,  Brooklyn. 

Barry,  Wm.,  Syracuse.  Delano,  Thos.  H.,  New  York  City. 

Beekman,  Gerard,  New  York  City.    Durgin,  Henry  J.,  Rochester. 
Betts,  Frederic  H.,  New  York  City.    Eagle  Pencil  Co.,  New  York  City. 
Bleakley,  Wm.  M.,  Verplanck.          Ecaubert,  F.,  New  York  City. 
Bo  wen,  J.  E.  M.,  New  York  City.     Edmonds,    Walter   D.,    New    York 
Brady,  James,  Brooklyn.  City. 

Bramwell,  G.  W.,  New  York  City.    Elting,  Irving,  Poughkeepsie. 
Brandon,  James,  New  York  City.       Ewing,  Thomas,  Jr.,  New  York  City. 
Brooks,  Byron  A.,  Brooklyn.  Fasoldt,  Ernest  C.,  Albany. 

Brooks,  J.  A.,  Clifton  Springs.  Feilbogen,  Moriss,  New  York  City. 

Brown,  Chichester,  New  York  City.Felbel,  Jacob,  New  York  City. 
Butler,  J.  Lawrence,  New  York  City. Field,  C.  J.,  New  York  City. 
Butler,  William  H.,  New  York  City. Forbes,  Francis,  New  York  City. 
Burden,  Jas.  A.,  Troy.  Gill,  Chas.  C.,  New  York  City. 

Butterick,  Ebenezer,  Brooklyn.          Gorton,  Robt.,  New  York  City. 
Cameron,  Frederick  W.,  Albany.      Granger,  James  B.,  Franklin. 
Canda,  F.  E.,  New  York  City.  Greeley,  E.  S.,  New  York  City. 

Carrington,  Jas.  H.,  New  York  City. Hagen,  Arthur  T.,  Rochester. 
Christensen,  Jno.,  Mount  Vernon.  Haire,  R.  J.,  New  York  City. 
Church,  Fred  F.,  Rochester.  Hall,  Wm.  P.,  New  York  City. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  CONGRESS.  495 

NEW  YORK — continued. 

Hallock,  Wm.,  Middletown.  Quimby,  Bdw.  E.,  New  York  City. 

Harmon,  O.  S.,  Brooklyn.  Raymond,  Wm.  C.,  Syracuse. 

Harris,  John  F.,  Fort  Edward.  Roberts,  Milton  Josiah,  New    York 

Hastings,  A.  Horace, New  York  City.      City. 

Haupt,  vS.  B.,  New  York  City.  Rowland,  Geo.,  New  York  City. 

Herzog,  F.  B.  New  York  City.  Rogers,    Archibald,    Hyde   Park    on 

Higgins,  Chas.  M.  Brooklyn.  Hudson. 

Hitchcock,  L.  R.,  Four  Mile.  Selden,  Geo.  B.,  Rochester. 

Johnson,  E.  T.,  New  York  City.        Serrell,  Lemuel  W.,  New  York  City. 
Johnston,  W.  J.  New  York  City.       Sheehy,  R.  J.,  New  York  City. 
Jones,  J.  Thos.,  Utica.  Sherman,  Geo.  W.,  Pearsalls. 

Kenyon,  Robt.  Nelson,  New  York  Skilton,  James  A.,  New  York  City. 

City.  Smith,  Chas.  F.,  Brooklyn. 

Kenyon,  W.  H.?  New  York  City.      Smith,  Harold  B.,  Ithaca. 
Kilmer  Mfg.  Co.,  Newburgh.  Stearns,  James  S.,  New  York  City. 

Lamborn,  Robt.  H.,  New  York  City.  Stetson,  Thomas  D.,  New  York  City. 
Langerfeld,  A.,  New  York  City.        Thompson,  Edw.  P.,  New  York  City. 
Linindoll,  C.  C.,  Fort  Edward,          Todd,  A.  J.,  New  York  City. 
Locke,  Sylvanus  D.,  Hoosick  Falls.  Townsend,  Henry  C.,  New  York  City. 
Logan,  Walters.,  New  York  City.  Vander  Weyde,  P.  H.,  Brooklyn. 
Lowrey,  Benno,  New  York  City.       Wait,  Wesley,  Newburg. 
Lowrey,  G.  P.,  New  York  City.         Waterman,  L.  E.,  New  York  City. 
Malm,  Alexander,  New  York  City.  Welling,  Wm.  M.,  New  York  City. 
McElroy,  J.  F.,  Albany.  Wheeler,  Fredk.  Merian,  New  York 

Milliken,  J.  A.,  New  York  City.  City. 

Munson,  H.  T.,  New  York  City.       Whitaker,  W.  W.,  Gloversville. 
Parmelee,    Dubois  D.,  New  York  White,  Wm.  A.,  Staatsburg. 

City.  Wilhelm,  Edward,  Buffalo. 

Phelps,  Geo.  M.,  New  York  City.     Williams,  John  T.,  Mount  Vernon. 
Planten,  H.  &Son,  New  York  City.  Wilson,  Wm.,  Middletown. 
Preutiss,  F.  H.,  New  York  City.       Worthem,  W.  E.,  New  York  City. 

NORTH  CAROLINA. 
Lipps,  Henry,  Jr.,  Greensboro. 

OHIO. 

Clawson,  L.  P.,  Hamilton.  Palmer,  C.  H.,  Akron. 

Eversman,  Ernst  A.,  Toledo.  Palmer,  C.  O.,  Cleveland. 

Fisher,  Wm.  Hubbell,  Cincinnati.  Roberts,  Edward  P.,  Cleveland. 

Fleetwood,  C.  V.,  Cincinnati.  See,  J.  W.,  Hamilton. 

Gould,  Aaron  P.,  Canton.  Simons,  Howard  T.,  Cambridge. 

Kaufman,  C.  H.,  Bridgeport.  Toulmin,  H.  A.,  Springfield. 

Marsh,  James  A.,  Cleveland.  White,  W.  J.,  Cleveland. 

McClellan,  Felix  G.,  Carrothers.  Whitely,  W.  N.,  Springfield. 

Olney,  Chas.  F.,  Cleveland.  Whitter,  E.  E.,  Milford  Centrr. 


496  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Allen,  Geo.,  Franklin.  Koskul,  Frederick,  Philadelphia. 

Alsen  Finius,  Philadelphia.  Lewis,  Wilfred,  Philadelphia. 
Automatic  French  Spring  Company,  Longsbieth,  Bdw.,  Philadelphia. 

Pittsburg.  Lorimer,  John  H.,  Philadelphia. 

Babendlier,  A.  I.,  Philadelphia.  Macbeth,  Geo.  A.,  Pittsburg. 

Barnaby,  Chas.  W.,  Meadville.  Mann,  Harry  F.,  Allegheny. 

Berg,  Walter  S.,  Philadelphia.  Marquis,  C.  F.,  Beaver  Falls. 
Bethlehem  Iron   Company,  South  Midgley,  Thos.,  Beaver  Falls. 

Bethlehem.  Millhauser,  B.,  Scranton. 

Boies,  H.  M.,  Scranton.  Moxham,  A.  J.,  Johnstown. 

Bon  will,  W.  G.  A.,  Philadelphia.  Myers,  H.  M.,  Beaver  Falls. 

Boyd,  John  T.,  Brie.  Newell,  A.  W.,  Bradford. 

Burnham,  Geo.,  Philadelphia.  Pettit,  Horace,  Philadelphia. 

Carkhuff,  R.,  Lewisburgh.  Phillips,  C.  C.,  Philadelphia. 

Carty,  Jerome,  Philadelphia.  Price,  J.  A.,  Scranton. 

Cox,  Eckley  B.,  Drifton.  Price,  James  M.,  Philadelphia. 

Douglass,  J.  Walter,  Philadelphia.  Ripple,  Ezra  H.,  Scranton. 

Dudley,  Chas.  B.,  Altoona.  Schoen,  Chas.  T.,  Allegheny  City. 

Elder,  J.  T.,  Philadelphia.  Sellers,  Coleman,  Philadelphia. 

Ely,  Theo.  N.,  Altoona.  Sellers,  Wm.,  Philadelphia. 

Emerson,  J.  E-,  Beaver  Falls.  Shaw,  Thos.,  Philadelphia. 

Emmens,  Stephen  H.,  Youngwood.  Smith,  E.  D.,  Pittsburg. 

Eschner,  Louis,  Philadelphia.  Smith,  John  Y.,  Doylestowu. 

Fraley,  Frederick,  Philadelphia.  Stanley,  Edward,  Bridgeport. 

Goodwin,  John  M.,  Sharpsville.  Stewart,  W.  G.,  Reading. 

Hall,  Augustus  R.,  Philadelphia.  Sulzberger,  D.,  Philadelphia. 

Hickman,  Louis  C.,  Philadelphia.  Travis,  W.  H.,  Philadelphia. 

Hill,  B.  B.,  Philadelphia.  Vogt,  A.  S.,  Altoona. 

How,  W.  Storer,  Philadelphia.  Westinghouse,  Geo.,  Jr.,  Pittsburg. 

Howson,  Henry,  Philadelphia.  Wiedersheim,  John  A.,  Philadelphia. 

Jaques,  W.  H.,  South  Bethlehem.  S.  S.  White  Dental  Mfg.  Co.,  Phila- 
Kingsley,  John  F.,  Athens.  delphia. 

Kneass,  Strickland  L.,  Philadelphia. Wood,  W.  D.,  McKeesport. 

RHODE  ISLAND. 

Corliss,  Wm.,  Providence.  Miller,  Joseph  R.,  Providence. 

Cottrell,  C.  B.,  Westerly.  Reynolds,  Edwin,  Providence. 

Gammell,  A.  M.,  Providence.  Smith,  Chas.  R.,  Providence. 
Howard,  Henry,  Providence. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Alanken,  C.  H.,  Charleston.  Emanuel,  Philip  Albert,  Aiken. 

Brotherhood,  F.,  Beaufort.  Martin,  James  N.,  Newberry. 

Due,  Henry  A.,  Jr.,  Charleston. 

TENNESSEE. 
Green,  M.  M.,  Lynchburg. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  CONGRESS.  497 

UTAH. 
Silver,  Wm.  J.,  Salt  Lake  City. 

VERMONT. 

Butterfield,  F.  G.,  Derby  Line.  Cooper,  Geo.,  Bennington. 

Williams,  N.  G.,  Billings  Falls. 

VIRGINIA. 

Barlow,  W.  H.,  Charlottesville.  Bartlett,  John  H.,  Roanoke. 

Sears,  W.  G.,  Lynchburgh. 

WASHINGTON. 
Duryee,  Schuyler,  Everett. 

WEST  VIRGINIA. 
Creigh,  Alfred  B.,  Ronceverte. 

WISCONSIN. 
Oliver,  Garritt  H.,  Kaukauna. 

BRAZIL. 
Chermont,  A.  L.,  Para. 

ADDRESSES  INCOMPLETE. 

John  S.  Boneville.  Shoemaker  Co. 

John  A.  Brill.  John  Truesdale. 

J.  W.  Hyatt.  M.  A.  White. 

W.  H.  Miller.  E.  O.  Young. 


NEWSPAPER    COMMENTS. 


499 


NEWSPAPER  COMMENT  UPON  THE  CELEBRATION. 


[From  the  SCIENTIFIC  AMERICAN 

March  12,  1887.] 

CELEBRATION  OF  THE  CENTENNIAL  OF 
THE  ENACTMENT  OF  THE  PATENT 
LAWS. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Scientific  American: 

The  first  patent  law  was  enacted  in 
the  United  States  of  America  on  the 
loth  of  April,  1790.  I  would  suggest 
that  inventors  meet  in  1890  at  some 
place  for  centennial  celebration  for  the 
purpose  of  showing  the  great  progress 
made  by  the  American  genius  under 
the  protection  of  the  law.  I  would 
like  to  hear  from  others. 

F.  M.  SHIELDS. 
Coopwood,  Miss. 

[As  the  locality  for  such  a  conven- 
tion we  would  suggest  this  city.  The 
patent  law  was  passed  by  the  first 
United  States  Congress,  whose  first  two 
sessions  met  in  New  York,  the  first 
session  lasting  from  March  4  to  Sep- 
tember 29,  1789,  and  the  second  from 
January  4  to  August  12,  1790.  An  ex- 
hibition of  inventions  of  early  produc- 
tions of  the  pioneers  of  the  arts  might 
be  organized  in  connection  therewith, 
and  a  really  memorable  centennial 
might  be  celebrated.  We  echo  the 
sentiment  of  the  last  sentence  of  our 
correspondent's  letter.  Others  should 
be  heard  from.] 


[From  the  SCIENTIFIC  AMERICAN, 
January  24, 1891.! 

CELEBRATION  OF  THE  BEGINNING  OF 
THE  SECOND  CENTURY  OF  THE 
AMERICAN  PATENT  SYSTEM. 

The  first  century  of  existence  of  the 
American  patent  system  has  now  been 
completed.  In  the  history  of  the 
country  there  are  to  be  found  few  more 
important  epochs  or  more  worthy  of 
being  adequately  signalized.  The  in- 
auguration of  the  patent  laws  marks 
the  beginning  of  a  career  of  unprece- 
dented prosperity  among  nations.  It 
indicates  the  fostering  by  the  federal 
power  of  the  most  distinctive  feature 
of  the  national  character.  The  many 


inventions,  now  nearly  half  a  million 
in  number,  set  forth  in  the  records  of 
the  United  States  Patent  Office  are  a 
history  of  mechanical  genius  and 
progress  of  which  our  country  and  the 
world  at  large  should  be  proud. 

It  is  hard  to  believe  that  those  who 
composed  and  accepted  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  and  those 
who  subsequently  amended  it,  could 
have  foreseen  the  influence  which 
each  paragraph  would  have  on  the 
fortunes  of  so  many  millions  of  peo- 
ple. It  is  definitely  certain  that  the 
clauses  relating  to  the  patents  could 
never  have  been  supposed  to  embody 
the  foundations  of  the  edifice  that  has 
been  based  upon  them.  In  the  first 
days  of  the  republic  there  was  but 
little  interest  in  the  subject  of  inven- 
tion. The  people  were  largely  agri- 
cultural in  their  pursuits,  and  carried 
on  their  work  with  primitive  appli- 
ances. Gradually  a  few  patents  were 
taken  out,  but  up  to  the  year  1825,  in- 
cluding the  first  thirty-five  years  of 
operation,  only  4,183  patents  had  been 
issued.  The  annual  number  of  patents 
granted  gradually  increased  from  ten 
or  twenty  per  annum  to  299  in  the 
year  1825.  In  1854  the  first  great  in- 
crease is  observed,  when  the  number 
rose  from  846  for  1853  to  1,759  for  l854- 
Since  that  period  they  have  increased 
until  now  over  20,000  are  issued  an- 
nually. 

It  is  not  in  the  mere  granting  of 
letters  patent  that  the  fostering  arm 
of  the  government  appears  most 
prominent.  Entitled  by  statute  to 
federal  protection  by  the  judiciary 
the  rights  of  patentees  have  formed 
one  of  the  great  subjects  of  defense 
by  the  highest  courts  of  the  land. 
The  district  and  circuit  judges  are  the 
first  appealed  to,  but  from  them  case 
is  brought  before  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  at  Washington.  No 
subject  of  personal  or  even  interna- 
tional right  can  find  a  higher  tribunal 
for  adjudication  of  its  claims  than  is 
afforded  to  the  right  of  the  inventor. 


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The  highest  judges  in  the  land,  and 
those  who  have  obtained  the  highest 
reputation  as  expounders  of  the  law 
and  as  interpreters  of  the  intentions 
of  the  legislative  bodies,  have  pro- 
nounced strongly  and  unhesitatingly 
in  favor  of  the  inventor.  No  class  of 
citizens  has  been  the  subject  of  higher 
encomium  from  the  bench.  Those 
judges  who  have  been  most  outspoken 
in  their  appreciation  of  the  poorly  re- 
warded efforts  of  mechanical  genius 
have  been  those  who  have  attained 
the  highest  reputation.  Numerous 
attacks  have  been  made  upon  the 
system  in  Congress,  but  all  have  met 
with  the  same  fate,  and  have  failed  at 
an  early  stage.  To-day  the  nation  at 
large  may  be  thankful  in  seeing  the 
statutes  undisturbed  and  intact.  It  is 
a  guarantee  of  the  future  progress  of 
the  country.  The  maintenance  of 
laws  so  fruitful  in  good  in  the  past 
promises  well  for  the  future,  and  is  the 
best  insurance  of  the  continuance  of 
inventors'  efforts.  The  more  enlight- 
ened of  our  legislators  have  uniformly 
opposed  on  the  floor  of  the  houses  of 
Congress  any  impairing  of  the  force 
and  scope  of  these  statutes. 

Fortunately  we  can  be  said  to  be 
entering  on  this  second  century  under 
good  auspices.  The  rights  of  inventors 
are  sustained  in  the  courts  and  by  the 
houses  of  Congress.  A  century  of 
unprecedented  work  by  the  inventor 
now  begins.  To  fittingly  celebrate  the 
present  epoch,  the  beginning  of  the 
second  century  of  the  American  patent 
system,  a  central  executive  and  ad- 
visory committees  have  been  organ- 
ized at  Washington.  The  personnel 
of  the  committees  includes  a  long  list 
of  names  prominent  in  business  and 
official  circles.  The  Patent  Office, 
United  States  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  the  Smithsonian  In- 
stitution, the  National  Museum,  United 
States  Geological  Survey,  the  United 
States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  and 
many  other  federal  bureaus  and  insti- 
tutions are  represented  by  their  chiefs 
or  other  officials. 

The  centennial  of  the  patent  system 
has  passed,  because  the  first  patent 
was  granted  in  1790.  The  idea  of 
holding  the  proposed  convention  has 
come  a  year  beyond  the  proper  date 
for  a  centennial.  It  is  therefore  termed 
a  celebration  of  the  beginning  of  the 


second  century  of  the  American  patent 
system.  The  inventor  and  manufac- 
turer of  inventions  are  appealed  to  by 
the  committee  to  hold  a  fitting  cele- 
bration in  the  national  capital,  to  com- 
memorate the  entry  into  the  second 
century  of  mechanical  and  scientific 
progress.  They  are  invited  to  assist 
in  putting  on  record  the  nation's  ap- 
preciation of  the  labors  of  those  whose 
work  in  the  realm  of  invention  has 
done  so  much  to  elevate  their  country. 
It  is  also  suggested  that  the  occasion 
is  a  fitting  one  for  organizing  a  National 
Association  of  Inventors,  a  society  for 
mutual  benefit,  which  it  is  obvious 
might  accrue  in  many  ways  to  the 
members.  The  committee  invite  all 
interested  to  communicate  with  their 
secretary,  Mr.  J.  Elfreth  Watkins, 
U.  S.  National  Museum.  Washington, 
D.  C. 


[From  THE  FORUM,  March,  1891.] 
OUR  BARGAIN  WITH  THE  INVENTOR. 

A  United  States  patent  is  a  contract. 
The  parties  to  it  are  the  inventor  on 
the  one  hand  and  the  people  of  the 
United  States  on  the  other.  The  in- 
ventor, by  a  public  record,  informs  the 
people  concerning  a  useful  discovery 
which  he  has  made,  which  must  be 
original  with  him  and  new  in  the 
United  States.  In  return  the  people, 
by  their  letters-patent,  secure  to  him 
the  exclusive  right  to  make,  to  use, 
and  to  sell  his  invention  for  a  limited 
number  of  years.  At  the  end  of  that 
period  the  con  tract  terminates,  and  the 
discovery  belongs  to  all  the  people  for- 
ever. A  patent,  therefore,  does  not  flow 
from  the  bounty  of  the  community,  as 
might  a  pension  or  a  subsidy,  or  a 
medal.  It  belongs  to  the  inventor  by 
right.  It  comes  into  existence  in  con- 
sequence of  the  legal  establishment  of 
a  certain  state  of  facts,  namely,  that 
the  invention  is  new,  useful,  and  orig- 
inal with  claimant.  This  disclosure  is 
the  consideration  on  the  part  of  the 
inventor,  who,  therefore,  gives  to  the 
community  something  of  value  which 
it  did  not  before  possess.  The  com- 
munity gives  to  the  inventor,  not  some- 
thing of  value  which  it  already  had,  as 
where  a  part  of  the  public  domain  is 
patented  to  a  settler,  but  simply  pro- 
tection. If  the  invention  is  valuable 
so  is  the  protection  ;  if  the  invention 


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is  worthless  the  protection  is  without 
benefit;  thus  the  contract  is  reciprocal 
and  evenly  balanced.  The  validity  of 
a  patent  depends  upon  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  facts  established.  To  de- 
termine issues  of  validity  is  a  function 
of  the  United  States  courts.  To  de- 
termine whether  the  consideration 
probably  exists,  and  to  make  the  con- 
tract itself  is  the  function  of  the  United 
States  Patent  Office.  "He  who  re- 
ceives an  idea  from  me,"  wrote 
Thomas  Jefferson,  "receives  instruc- 
tion himself  without  lessening  mine  ; 
as  he  who  lights  his  taper  at  mine  re- 
ceives light  without  darkening  mine. " 
An  idea  once  made  known  is  subject  to 
human  control  only  when  incorporate, 
and  therefore  it  can  become  the  sub- 
ject of  patent  only  when  it  is  tangible 
and  existent.  In  the  beginning  it  may 
be  regarded  as  a  marvel ;  in  time  it 
becomes  a  necessity  of  life,  a  manufac- 
ture, perhaps  the  basis  of  a  great  in- 
dustry. In  a  certain  sense  the  invention 
then  detaches  itself  from  the  inventor, 
for  the  patent  no  longer  protects  only 
one  man  in  his  right,  but  through  him 
many  men  in  their  rights.  The  patent 
system  of  the  United  States  has  now 
completed  its  one  hundredth  year. 
The  experience  of  the  century  shows 
that  the  advantages  incident  to  the 
patent  contract  constitute  a  sufficient 
incentive,  not  merely  to  lead  people  to 
publish  their  inventions,  but  to  make 
them  invent.  The  number  of  patents 
granted  yearly  has  steadily  augmented; 
it  is  now  more  than  26,060,  and  is  in- 
creasing. Under  the  fostering  protec- 
tion of  patents  we  have  developed,  and 
are  developing,  inventors  as  a  distinc- 
tive national  product. 


[From  the  WASHINGTON  POST, 
March  22,  1891.] 

THE  COMING  PATENT  CENTENNIAL. 

The  coming  Patent  Centennial,  the 
celebration  of  which  will  be  held  in 
Washington,  beginning  the  8th  of 
April  next,  will  be  one  of  the  most 
notable  and  most  interesting  of  such 
gatherings  that  has  yet  been  witnessed 
in  America;  of  its  own  kind,  it  will  be 
the  most  important  ever  held. 

It  is  the  intent  of  this  centennial  to 
celebrate  a  century  of  patents  in  Amer- 
ica, a  century  of  progress  in  mechani- 
cal and  industrial  arts — a  century  of 


the  most  marvelous  advancement  the 
world  has  ever  known. 

It  will  be  in  a  peculiar  and  marked 
degree  a  gathering  characteristically 
and  representatively  American.  It 
will  testify,  as  perhaps  no  other  gath- 
ering could  testify,  to  the  positive 
progress,  the  actual  and  eminent  con- 
tributions which  America  has  made  to 
the  stock  of  the  mechanical  posses- 
sions of  man. 

' '  To  promote  the  progress  of  useful 
arts ' '  was  the  suggestive  title  of  the 
act  over  which  Washington,  as  Presi- 
dent, wrote  his  signature  on  the  8th  of 
April,  1791.  It  is  difficult  at  this  time 
to  measure  or  compute  the  wonderful 
development  which  has  been  made  in 
the  hundred  years  following  this  en- 
actment, in  this  most  important  field 
of  human  effort. 

When  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  decreed  to  the  inventor  absolute 
rights  to  the  products  of  his  ingenuity 
and  skill,  the  discovery  of  Benjamin 
Franklin  was  not  understood,  the  in- 
vention of  Watts  was  all  but  unused, 
the  innovations  of  Hargrave  and  Ark- 
wright  were  met  by  angry  mobs  ;  the 
field  of  centuries  was  laid  bare  by  the 
primitive  scythe  and  its  wealth  won 
from  the  chaff  by  the  flail. 

Such  was  the  mechanical  advance- 
ment of  mankind  in  6,000  years  of  re- 
corded life. 

As  in  the  flash  of  a  single  century, 
such  has  been  the  wonderful  activity 
of  the  age.  Scarce  is  there  a  known 
occupation  which  has  not  undergone 
revolutions  startling  and  complete. 
The  means  and  manner  of  locomotion 
and  communication,  alike  on  land 
and  sea ;  of  heating  and  lighting,  of 
production  and  distribution,  the  pro- 
cesses of  agriculture,  manufactures, 
printing — all  have  undergone  within 
this  narrow  span  a  change  so  swift, 
so  sweeping  that  the  material  world 
of  to-day  bears  as  little  resemblance 
to  the  material  world  of  Franklin  and 
Washington  as  the  conceptions  of 
Copernicus  to  the  conceptions  of  the 
ancient  Ptolemy. 

To  compress  history  into  a  sentence, 
the  achievements  of  the  nineteenth 
century  in  the  field  of  mechanics  com- 
pose those  of  all  the  centuries  of  civil- 
ization preceding.  The  history  of  the 
century  is  an  Arabian  tale,  whose 
most  gorgeous  fancy  and  most  vivid 


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imagination  are  surpassed  by  simple 
fact. 

In  this  unparalleled  activity  the 
achievements  of  the  United  States 
represent  the  most  important,  if  not 
the  major,  part.  From  this  country 
have  come  all  the  greater  inventions 
for  which  the  century  will  in  future 
times  be  famous.  No  other  national- 
ity has  contributed  either  in  like  meas- 
ure or  like  value.  It  is  indeed  ques- 
tionable if  the  inventions  of  the  United 
States  alone,  numbering  now  over 
300,000,  do  not  surpas*  in  importance 
and  worth  the  inventions  of  all  other 
nations  combined. 

To  review  this  marvelous  work,  to 
consider  its  value,  to  note  its  effect,  to 
look  somewhat  to  the  future — this  is 
the  province  of  the  coming  centennial. 
It  will  bring  together  many  brilliant 
minds.  It  will  mark  a  great  era. 


[From  the  SCIENTIFIC  AMERICAN, 
April  4,  1891.1 

THE  PATENT  CENTENNIAL. 
The  Congress  of  Inventors  and 
Manufacturers  of  Inventions,  to  be 
held  in  Washington  on  the  8th,  9th 
and  loth  of  this  month,  is  certain  to 
be  a  most  enthusiastic  and  numerously 
attended  assemblage,  in  every  way 
worthy  of  such  an  occasion  as  the 
celebration  of  the  beginning  of  the 
second  century  of  the  American  patent 
system.  We  have  been  living  in  a 
period  which  has  been  distinguished 
by  many  noble  centennial  celebra- 
tions, from  the  great  world's  exposi- 
tion in  1876,  to  celebrate  the  one  hun- 
dredth anniversary  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  down  to  the  great 
assembling  in  New  York  to  mark  the 
corresponding  anniversary  of  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution,  but  it  is 
believed  that  none  of  these  events 
have  been  more  memorable,  or  have 
been  more  clearly  significant  of  Amer- 
ican progress  than  will  be  the  celebra- 
tion to  be  held  in  Washington  next 
week.  There  will  be  no  disinterested 
onlookers,  but  in  the  large  attendance, 
drawn  from  the  remotest  quarters  of 
the  country  as  well  as  from  near-by 
places,  and  from  workers  in  every 
industry  and  every  department  of 
science,  there  will  be  a  keen  apprecia- 
tion of  the  dignity  and  the  importance 
of  the  occasion. 


Besides  engaging  the  largest  public 
hall  in  Washington  for  the  regular 
meetings,  provision  has  been  made 
for  overflow  meetings,  and  it  is  ex- 
pected that  a  far  greater  variety  of 
subjects  will  be  presented  illustrative 
of  the  progress  of  American  invention 
than  the  projectors  had  at  first  antici- 
pated. The  programme  arranged  by 
the  literature  committee  has  been 
most  favorably  regarded  by  all  friends 
of  the  movement,  and  the  responses 
from  inventors,  specialists  and  promi- 
nent men  in  different  sections  indicate 
that  the  literary  entertainment  pro- 
vided will  be  a  most  attractive  one. 

In  the  accompanying  illustrations 
we  present  portraits  of  a  limited  num- 
ber of  the  imposing  array  of  lawyers, 
judges,  administrators,  legislators  and 
patent  specialists  taking  part  in  this 
centennial  celebration, our  space  being 
all  too  small  to  attempt  anything  like 
so  full  a  record  as  we  should  like  to 
give. 

In  such  a  list  we  necessarily  include 
the  Hon.  Samuel  Blatchford,  a  Justice 
of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court, 
who  is  to  deliver  an  address  on  "A 
Century  of  Patent  Law."  His  deci- 
sions in  memorable  patent  cases  in  the 
United  States  Circuit  Court,  and  in 
other  important  causes,  having  during 
many  years  always  commanded  the 
close  attention  of  all  members  of  the 
bar,  and  his  promotion  to  the  Supreme 
Court  was  generally  looked  upon  as  a 
thoroughly  well-earned  advancement. 

The  Hon.  John  W.  Noble,  Secretary 
of  the  Interior  in  President  Harrison's 
Cabinet,  and  thus  the  direct  official 
head  of  all  our  patent  business  at  pres- 
ent, has  taken  an  active  part  in  assist- 
ing to  make  the  celebration  a  thor- 
oughly imposing  and  representative 
one.  He  will  personally  preside  at 
some  of  the  meetings,  and,  with  other 
prominent  officials,  hold  receptions 
especially  for  inventors  and  manufac- 
turers and  their  representatives. 

The  Commissioner  of  Patents,  Hon. 
Charles  E.  Mitchell,  of  Connecticut, 
around  whose  office  is  centered  the 
great  interest  of  the  occasion,  is  a  man 
of  the  highest  ability,  wide  influence 
and  exalted  character.  He  is  distin- 
guished by  his  clear  judgment,  and 
has  previously  been  a  most  successful 
patent  lawyer.  He  has  proved  himsel  f 
well  qualified  for  the  arduous  duties  of 


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his  office.  He  is  a  graduate  of  Brown 
University,  about  fifty-five  years  of 
age. 

The  Hon.  Benjamin  Butterworth,  of 
Ohio,  who  is  to  deliver  an  address  on 
"The  Effect  of  Our  Patent  System  on 
the  Material  Development  of  the 
United  States,"  has  been  so  promi- 
nently before  the  public  for  many 
years,  Commissioner  of  Patents  and  as 
a  member  of  Congress,  and  a  public 
speaker  of  great  power  and  influence, 
that  his  participation  in  the  celebration 
will  be  an  important  factor.  He  has 
been  the  chairman  of  the  House  Com- 
mittee on  Patents,  and  through  many 
years  has  worked  with  energy  and  dis- 
crimination for  the  protection  of  the 
interests  of  inventors. 

Dr.  R.  H.  Thurston,  director  of  Sib- 
ley  College,  Cornell  University,  who 
is  to  speak  on  "The  Inventors  of  the 
Steam  Engine,"  has  a  subject  to  the 
elucidation  of  which  he  brings  a  great 
store  of  knowledge.  His  treatment  of 
the  matter  will  be  sure  to  be  most  in- 
structive and  interesting. 

The  Hon.  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Com- 
missioner of  Labor,  who  is  to  speak  on 
the  "Relation  of  Labor  to  Invention," 
has  made  a  practical  study  of  allphases 
of  the  labor  question  from  an  economic 
standpoint,  and  speaks  on  such  ques- 
tions with  an  authority  everywhere 
acknowledged.  He  first  made  a  science 
of  this  department  of  investigation  as 
the  organizer  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,  and  has 
brought  to  his  present  wider  field  a 
method  and  system  heretofore  un- 
known. 

Dr.  John  S.  Billings,  who  is  to  speak 
on  inventions  and  discoveries  in  medi- 
cine, surgery  and  practical  sanitation, 
is  a  United  States  army  surgeon,  in 
charge  of  the  Army  Medical  Museum. 
He  has  an  international  reputation  as 
a  sanitarian,  and  his  recent  work  on 
medical  bibliography  is  to-day  the 
leading  authority  on  the  subject. 

Hon.  John  W.  Daniel,  U.  S.  Senator 
from  Virginia,  very  appropriately 
speaks  on  the  New  South  as  an  put- 
growth  of  invention  and  the  American 
patent  law.  He  was  born  in  Lynch- 
burg,  Va.,  in  1842,  served  in  the  Con- 
federate service  during  the  war,  rising 
from  the  ranks  to  a  colonelcy,  and 
since  the  war  has  become  distinguished 
as  a  lawyer  and  orator. 


Dr.  Cyrus  F.  Brackett,  Henry  Pro- 
fessor of  Physics  in  Princeton  College, 
who  is  to  speak  on  invention  as  related 
to  the  progress  of  electrical  science,  is 
a  widely  known  authority  in  this  field, 
and,  in"  conjunction  with  Professor 
Anthony,  has  published  a  recent  book 
on  physics  with  which  many  of  our 
readers  are  probably  familiar. 

Thomas  Gray,  of  Indiana,  who  is  to 
speak  on  telegraph  and  telephone  in- 
ventions, is  a  civil  engineer  and  pro- 
fessor of  dynamic  engineering  in  an 
institute  at  Terre  Haute. 

Mr.  Ainsworth  R.  Spofford,  of  the 
advisory  committee,  is  the  efficient 
and  accomplished  Librarian  of  Con- 
gress, and  is  from  New  Hampshire, 
where  he  was  born  in  1825.  He  be- 
came the  principal  Librarian  in  1865, 
having  previously  served  a  term  as 
assistant.  Mr.  Spofford  has  seen  the 
library  grow  from  about  seventy-five 
thousand  to  more  than  half  a  million 
volumes,  and  he  has  had  great  influ- 
ence with  successive  Congresses  in  se- 
curing legislative  action  for  a  proper 
building  for  the  rapidly  accumulating 
store  of  books,  adequate  provision  for 
which  has  only  recently  been  made, 
while  the  plans  are  but  tardily  being 
carried  out.  He  is  recognized  as  a 
bibliographer  of  great  attainments, 
and  peculiarly  fitted  for  his  responsi- 
ble position. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Babson,  of  the  Patent 
Office,  is  from  Maine,  and  entered  the 
Interior  Department  in  1866  as  Chief 
of  the  Finance  Division  and  Deputy 
Commissioner  of  Pensions.  He  was 
assigned  to  the  charge  of  the  Official 
Gazette  in  1878,  and  in  1880  was  ap- 
pointed chief  of  the  Issue  and  Gazette 
Division,  which  position  he  now  holds. 
Of  the  54  volumes  of  the  Official  Ga- 
zette, 41  have  been  published  under 
his  direction,  and  of  the  448,000  pat- 
ents granted  by  the  Patent  Office,  more 
than  half  have  been  prepared  and 
issued  under  his  charge. 

Llewellyn  Deane,  of  Washington, 
D.  C.,  a  member  of  the  Literature  Com- 
mittee, is  a  native  of  Maine,  and  de- 
scended from  Pilgrim  stock.  He  is  a 
graduate  of  Bowdoin  College,  and  a 
lawyer  by  profession,  and  makes  the 
patent  business  a  specialty.  He  was 
a  principal  examiner  in  the  United 
States  Patent  Office  for  several  years. 
In  earlier  years  he  had  considerable 


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legislative  experience  in  Maine.  He 
is  actively  connected  with  local  scien- 
tific societies. 

John  Lynch,  the  chairman  of  the 
Executive  Committee,  is  a  native  of 
Portland,  Me.,  and  is  engaged  in  com- 
mercial business  and  interested  in 
manufacturing  and  railroad  enter- 
prises. He  was  elected  in  1864  from 
the  first  Maine  district  (now  repre- 
sented by  Speaker  Reed)  to  the  Thirty- 
ninth  Congress,  and  re-elected  to  the 
four  succeeding  Congresses,  retiring 
in  1873.  As  chairman  of  committee 
on  "The  Causes  of  the  Decline  of 
American  Shipping,"  he  submitted  a 
report  with  bills  for  the  revival  of 
American  navigation  interests  which 
attracted  attention  not  only  in  this 
country  but  in  Europe.  He  was  also 
the  author  of  bills  passed  January  27, 
1873,  extending  the  life-saving  service 
(then  confined  to  the  coasts  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  New  Jersey)  along  the 
whole  Atlantic,  Pacific,  and  lake  coasts 
of  the  United  States,  and  connecting 
same  by  telegraph  with  signal  service 
and  light-houses.  This  is  the  founda- 
tion of  the  present  life-saving  service 
of  the  United  States.  Owning  a  large 
tract  of  land  near  Washington,  upon 
which  are  beds  of  terra  cotta  clay,  he 
established  the  Potomac  Terra  Cotta 
Works,  and  in  connection  with  this 
manufacture  has  made  several  inven- 
tions which  have  been  patented  in  this 
country  and  Europe. 

Marvin  C.  Stone,  of  the  Central  Com- 
mittee, was  graduated  from  Oberlin 
College,  Ohio,  in  1872,  and  began  life 
as  a  Washington  correspondent,  repre- 
senting the  New  Orleans  Picayune, 
the  Cleveland  Leader,  and  various 
other  journals.  Mr.  Stone  drifted  into 
the  manufacturing  business,  and  to- 
day employs  over  four  hundred  opera- 
tives, and  paying  out  considerably  over 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  annu- 
ally in  wages  alone.  He  confines  him- 
self to  the  manufacture  of  novelties  of 
his  own  invention.  He  has  taken  out 
a  large  number  of  patents  on  the  vari- 
ous articles  which  he  manufactures, 
but  he  bases  his  claim  as  an  inventor 
especially  upon  the  fountain  pen  with 
capillary  feed. 

Robert  W.  Fenwick,  a  patent  at- 
torney and  a  member  of  the  Central 
Committee,  was  born  in  Washington 
in  1832.  His  uncle,  Benjamin  Fen- 


wick,  was  one  of  the  three  who 
composed  the  Patent  Office  corps  in 
1812-16.  Mr.  Fenwick  studied  archi- 
tecture, civil  engineering,  and  me- 
chanical drawing,  and  was  for  seven 
years  employed  in  the  patent  depart- 
ment of  the  Scientific  American  at 
New  York,  being  afterward  similarly 
employed  in  charge  of  our  branch  office 
in  Washington.  Since  1861  Mr.  Fen- 
wick has  followed  business  as  a  patent 
attorney  in  Washington.  He  was 
called  to  preside  as  chairman  of  the 
meeting  at  which  it  was  determined 
that  a  celebration  of  the  second  cen- 
tury of  our  patent  system  should  be 
celebrated  in  1891.  He  was  authorized 
by  this  meeting  to  appoint  a  commit- 
tee to  arrange  the  programme  for  the 
celebration. 

George  Brown  Goode,  of  the  Ad- 
visory Committee,  was  born  in  New 
Albany,  Ind.,  I3th  February,  1851. 
He  was  graduated  at  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity, in  1870,  pursued  a  short  post- 
graduate course  at  Cambridge,  and  in 
1871  took  charge  of  the  organization 
of  the  college  museum  at  Middletown. 
In  1873  received  an  appointment  on 
the  staff  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, and  on  the  organization  of  the 
National  Museum  became  its  assistant 
director,  and  in  1887  assistant  secretary 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  The 
natural  history  division  of  the  United 
States  Government  at  the  Philadelphia 
exhibition  in  1876  was  under  his  super- 
vision. He  was  United  States  com- 
missioner in  charge  of  the  American 
sections  at  International  Fisheries  ex- 
hibitions in  Berlin  in  1880  and  in  Lon- 
don in  1883,  and  was  also  member  of 
the  Government  executive  board  for 
the  New  Orleans,  Cincinnati,  and 
Louisville  expositions  in  1884,  and  of 
the  board  of  management  and  control 
of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition 
of  1893.  From  1872  until  1887  he  was 
intimately  associated,  as  a  volunteer, 
with  the  work  of  the  United  States  Fish 
Commission.  In  1887  he  was  employed 
by  the  Department  of  State  as  statis- 
tical expert  in  connection  with  the 
Halifax  fisheries  commission,  and  in 
1879-80  was  in  charge  of  the  fisheries 
division  of  the  Tenth  Census,  and  in 
1887  was  appointed  United  States  Com- 
missioner of  Fisheries,  resigning  the 
position  early  in  1888.  He  has  traveled 
through  Europe  for  the  purpose  of 


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studying  the  methods  of  administra- 
tion of  the  public  museums,  and  has 
made  extensive  natural  history  explo- 
rations in  the  Bermudas  and  Florida. 
His  published  papers  are  numerous, 
and  include,  besides  several  books, 
about  200  minor  titles  on  topics  in 
ichthyology,  museum  administration, 
and  fishery  economy  and  American 
history. 

Franklin  A.  Seely,  of  Pennsylvania, 
of  the  Advisory  Committee,  was  born 
in  1834,  graduated  at  Yale  College  in 
1855,  served  in  the  Federal  army  dur- 
ing war  of  the  rebellion  as  assistant 
quartermaster  of  volunteers,  and  was 
discharged  in  1867  with  the  brevet  rank 
of  lieutenant  colonel.  He  was  ap- 
pointed assistant  examiner  in  the  Pat- 
ent Office  in  November,  1875,  a°d  chief 
clerk  of  that  office  in  April,  1877.  He 
held  the  latter  office  until  June,  1880, 
when  he  was  appointed  principal  ex- 
aminer, and  put  in  charge  of  the  classes 
of  invention  which  had  heretofore 
formed  the  philosophical  division,  ex- 
cept electricity,  which  was  made  to 
constitute  a  separate  division.  To  the 
new  division  was  added  trade  marks, 
which  had  heretofore  constituted  a 
division  by  itself.  Colonel  Seely 's  di- 
vision has  remained  substantially  the 
same  ever  since.  When  the  United 
States  became  a  member  of  the  Inter- 
national Union  for  the  Protection  of 
Industrial  Property,  the  work  of  re- 
viewing the  Convention  of  Paris  of 
1883  was  assigned  to  Examiner  Seely, 
and  his  interpretations  of  that  instru- 
ment have  been  accepted  here  and 
abroad  as  correct.  Since  then  he  has 
had  charge  in  the  Patent  Office  of  all 
questions  arising  under  the  conven- 
tion, and  growing  out  of  international 
relations,  and  a  year  ago  was  a  dele- 
gate from  the  United  States  to  the 
International  Conference  at  Madrid. 
Colonel  Seely  was  for  many  years  sec- 
retary of  the  Anthropological  Society 
of  Washington,  and  is  at  present  one 
of  the  editing  committee  of  its  quar- 
terly publication,  the  American  An- 
thropologist. He  has  given  much  time 
to  the  study  of  the  philosophy  of  in- 
vention, on  which  he  has  published 
several  papers. 

George  C.  Maynard,  of  the  Advisory 
Committee,  is  a  native  of  Ann  Arbor, 
Michigan.  He  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  that  State  and  studied 


physics  with  the  late  Professor  James 
C.  Watson,  director  of  the  Michigan 
Observatory.  Commenced  telegraph- 
ing at  the  age  of  fifteen  and  has  been 
engaged  in  electrical  work  ever  since. 
During  the  war  he  entered  the  Mili- 
tary Telegraph  Corps,  and  after  the 
close  of  the  war  was  chief  operator  in 
the  Western  Union  Telegraph  office  for 
several  years.  He  organized  the  tele- 
graph system  of  the  Weather  Bureau, 
and,  after  two  years'  service  in  the 
signal  office,  resigned  to  engage  in  pri- 
vate business  as  an  electrical  engineer, 
in  which  he  has  continued  until  this 
time.  He  has  been  an  extensive 
builder  of  telegraph  lines,  organized, 
and,  for  five  years,  managed  the  tele- 
phone business  in  Washington,  and 
has  been  connected  with  many  elec- 
trical enterprises.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  American  and  English  Institutes 
of  Electrical  Engineers,  president  of 
the  "Old  Timers'  "  telegraph  society 
and  the  Washington  editor  of  the  Elec- 
trical Review. 

Hon.  Joseph  K.  McCammon,  chair- 
man of  the  Finance  Committee,  was 
born  in  Philadelphia,  October  13,  1845. 
He  graduated  in  1865  from  the  Col- 
lege of  New  Jersey,  at  Princeton.  In 
1868  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
Philadelphia  ;  in  1870  appointed  reg- 
ister in  bankruptcy,  and  in  1871  special 
counsel  for  the  United  States  before 
the  Court  of  Claims,  having  special 
charge  of  suits  in  which  the  Pacific 
and  other  railroads  were  engaged  in 
litigation  with  the  Government.  In 
1880  he  was  appointed  Assistant  At- 
torney General,  and  assigned  to  the 
Interior  Department.  In  1881  he  was 
appointed,  by  President  Arthur,  Com- 
missioner of  Railroads,  holding  this 
position  with  the  Assistant  Attorney- 
Generalship.  In  May,  1885,  he  re- 
signed from  public  service,  since  which 
time  he  has  been  practicing  his  pro- 
fession in  the  city  of  Washington.  He 
has  been  president  of  the  Cosmos  Club 
of  Washington,  and  is  a  member  of 
several  learned  societies  and  social 
organizations. 

Alexander  T.  Britton,  of  the  Ad- 
visory Committee,  was  born  in  New 
York  City  in  1835.  He  studied  law  in 
the  office  of  James  T.  Brady,  and  sub- 
sequently went  to  college  "and  gradu- 
ated at  Brown  University.  He  has 
built  up  a  large  law  business  in  Wash- 


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ington  under  the  firm  name  of  Britton 
&  Gray,  and  in  the  department  of  rail- 
road and  corporation  law  has  acquired 
an  extended  reputation.  He  was  ap- 
pointed by  President  Hayes  a  member 
of  the  Public  Land  Commission,  and 
in  that  capacity  revised  and  codified 
the  public  land  laws.  Mr.  Britton  is 
president  of  the  American  Security 
and  Trust  Company,  and  vice-president 
of  the  Columbian  National  Bank. 

James  T.  Du  Bois  was  born  at  Hall- 
stead,  Pennsylvania,  in  1851.  Hegradu- 
ated  at  the  Ithaca  Academy  in  1871. 
President  Hayes  appointed  him  consul 
to  Aix-la-Chapelle,  Germany,  in  1877. 
He  was  transferred  to  the  consulate  at 
Callao,  Peru,  in  1883,  and  to  the  con- 
sulate at  Leipsic  during  the  same  year. 
In  1889  Mr.  Du  Bois  established  the 
Inventive  Age  at  Washington,  D.  C. 
He  has  been  an  earnest  promoter  of 
the  patent  centennial  celebration. 

J.  Elfreth  Watkins,  of  the  United 
States  National  Museum,  Washing- 
ton, has  been  the  efficient  secretary  of 
the  organization  committee,  and  taken 
upon  himself  a  large  amount  of  the 
necessary  detail  work. 

Dr.  J.  M.  Toner,  of  Washington,  a 
member  of  the  advisory  committee, 
has  also  been  an  active  and  efficient 
promoter  of  the  movement  for  this 
celebration. 


[From  THE  INVENTIVE  AGE,  Wash- 
iugtcm,  April  7,  1891.] 

WORDS  OF  WELCOME. 

With  pardonable  pride,  and  in  per 
feet  accordance  with  "the  eternal  fit- 
ness of  things,"  The  Inventive  Age 
extends  most  cordial  greeting  to  the 
inventors  and  all  others  who  have 
come  to  Washington  to  attend  the 
centennial  of  invention — the  inaugu- 
ration of  the  second  century  of  inven- 
tion under  the  stimulating  protection 
of  the  American  Patent  System.  This 
journal  is  both  proud  and  glad  that  the 
success  of  the  celebration  is  assured. 
The  fitness  of  a  welcoming  address  in 
these  columns  resides  in  the  fact  that, 
but  for  this  journal,  for  its  original 
suggestion  of  this  centennial  and  its. 
incessant  efforts  to  promote  it,  no  such 
gathering  would  have  occurred.  Of 
all  the  centennials  that  have  been  cele- 
brated in  the  United  States  since  1876 


none  have  been  worthier  of  the  world's 
notice,  none  more  replete  with  great 
suggestions,  none  has  noted  more  re- 
markable achievements  than  this  will 
celebrate.  The  dawn  of  our  national 
prosperity  began  with  the  inaugura- 
tion of  the  patent  system.  Until  the 
laws  recognized  property  in  ideas,  in 
new  discoveries,  in  all  genuine  pro- 
ducts of  inventive  toil,  there  was  no 
other  inducement  than  philanthropy 
for  men  to  devote  their  time  or  means 
to  invention.  Philanthropy  does  not 
support  families.  The  consciousness 
of  doing  good  will  not  take  the  place 
of  food,  raiment  or  shelter.  It  was 
necessary  to  guarantee  opportunities 
for  acquiring  wealth  in  order  to  develop 
the  inventive  talent  of  the  nation.  The 
patent  system  gave  that  guaranty,  and 
then  the  nation  started  on  such  a 
career  as  has  no  parallel  in  all  the 
ages.  The  recorded  facts  of  our  na- 
tional life  show  that  our  increase  in 
wealth  and  progress  in  the  arts  and 
sciences  has  been  in  exact  ratio  with 
the  progress  of  invention. 

It  was  never  the  privilege  of  any  as- 
semblage of  citizens  in  this  or  any 
other  land  to  contemplate  such  results 
of  their  own  labors  as  are  now  before 
the  inventors  of  the  United  States. 
"Their  fame  is  gone  out  into  all  the 
earth  and  their  words  to  the  end  of  the 
world. ' '  There  is  not  a  being  in  any 
civilized  land  on  the  globe  who  is  not 
the  beneficiary  of  the  American  inven- 
tors. There  is  not  a  life  lived  that  is 
not  happier,  not  a  home  that  is  not 
brighter,  not  a  day  or  an  hour  or  a 
place  where  the  beneficent  influence 
of  the  American  inventors  is  not  felt. 
Toil  has  been  stripped  of  its  brutality, 
the  gap  between  the  brutal  and  the 
human  has  been  widened,  the  good 
things  of  this  world  have  been  cheap- 
ened so  that  the  poor  can  enjoy  them  ; 
life  has  been  exalted  and  refined  ;  all 
arts,  all  industries,  in  the  field  of  agri- 
culture, commerce,  manufactures,  min- 
ing and  other  occupations  have  been 
beneficently  revolutionized  by  our  in- 
ventions. Education,  religion,  the 
press —  art,  science,  literature — all 
human  interests  worth  preserving,  are 
the  debtors  of  the  inventor.  Why 
should  not  he  and  his  friends  rejoice 
and  be  exceeding  glad  on  such  an 
occasion  as  this  centennial  ? 


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THE  EXECUTIVE   COMMITTEE. 
Hon.  JOHN  LYNCH,  Chairman. 

Hon.  John  Lynch,  chairman  of  the 
Executive  Committee,  was  born  at 
Portland,  Maine.  He  was  for  many 
years  successfully  engaged  in  foreign 
commerce  with  the  West  Indies  and 
South  American  States,  and  was  also 
largely  interested  in  manufacturing 
and  in  railroads.  In  1861  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  State  legisla- 
ture and  represented  the  first  Maine 
district  at  Washington  in  the  39th,  4oth 
and  4ist  Congresses.  This  is  the  dis- 
trict now  represented  by  ex-Speaker 
Reed.  During  his  congressional  career 
he  served  on  many  important  commit- 
tees, such  as  Banking  and  Currency, 
Commerce,  Pacific  Railroads,  Post- 
Offices  and  Post  Roads,  Bankrupt  Law. 
He  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Expenditures  in  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment, and  chairman  of  a  sjpecial  Com- 
mittee on  Decline  of  American  Navi- 
gation Interests.  This  committee  made 
a  famous  report  with  bills  for  the  re- 
vival of  shipping  interests,  and  Presi- 
dent Grant  sent  a  special  message  to 
Congress  strongly  endorsing  the  same 
and  urged  a  favorable  action  on  the 
bills  of  the  committee.  Mr.  Lynch 
was  instrumental  in  securing  an  ex- 
tension of  our  life-saving  service,  mak- 
ing it  the  most  efficient  in  the  world. 
Mr.  Lynch  is  a  successful  inventor  and 
manufacturer.  He  is  president  of  the 
well-known  Potomac  Terra  Cotta  Com- 
pany, and  his  work  as  chairman  of  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Patent 
Centennial  Celebration  has  been  very 
valuable. 

Coi,.  J.  W.  BABSON. 

Colonel  Babson  was  one  of  the  early 
active  promoters  of  the  Celebration 
and  was  unanimously  elected  chair- 
man of  the  Central  Committee  and 
was  also  chosen  member  of  the  Execu- 
tive Committee.  In  the  work  of  both 
of  these  committees  he  has  been  untir- 
ing in  his  efforts  to  make  the  celebra- 
tion worthy  of  the  important  event  it 
commemorates.  He  was  born  at 
Brooksville,  Maine,  became  a  student 
and  subsequently  a  tutor  at  the  Maine 
Wesleyan  Seminary  and  Female  Col- 
lege, and  was  for  a  time  postmaster  at 
Brooksville.  He  came  to  Washington 
with  Vice-President  Hamlin  in  1861 


and  was  an  official  of  the  United  States 
Senate  until  1866  when  he  resigned  to 
enter  the  Interior  Department,  where 
he  became  chief  of  the  Finance  Di- 
vision, Deputy  Commissioner  of  Pen- 
sions. He  was  assigned  to  the  charge 
of  the  Official  Gazette,  the  most  im- 
portant patent  journal  in  the  world, 
and  upon  the  absorption  of  the  Issue 
Division  by  the  Gazette  Division  he 
was  appointed  Chief  of  the  Issue  and 
Gazette  Division,  which  responsible 
position  he  still  holds  with  great  credit 
to  himself  and  the  Patent  Office.  Of 
the  448,000  patents  granted  by  the 
United  States  Patent  Office  more  than 
half  have  been  prepared  and  issued 
under  his  charge. 

Colonel  Babson  has  been  active  in 
promoting  the  interests  of  Washing- 
ton, as  a  member  of  the  Citizens'  Com- 
mittee of  One  Hundred,  and  was  Chair- 
man of  its  Committee  on  the  World's 
Fair  celebration,  making  an  elaborate 
report  in  favor  of  the  National  Capital 
as  the  site. 

SECRETARY  J.  E.  WATKINS. 

During  the  past  three  months  Pro- 
fessor Watkins  has  been  by  far  the 
busiest  man  at  the  National  Capital. 
The  work  he  has  accomplished  as  gen- 
eral secretary  of  the  Patent  Centennial 
Celebration  has  been  astonishing.  His 
capacity  to  organize  and  execute  have 
been  tested  and  proven  equal  to  the 
task.  But  very  few  people  know  of 
the  difficulties  which  he  and  his  faith- 
ful colleagues  on  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee encountered  and  conquered  in 
their  gallant  battle  to  make  the  most 
important  event  of  this  century  a  re- 
markable success.  To  Professor  Wat- 
kins  the  inventors,  manufacturers  and 
all  interested  in  the  magnificent  indus- 
trial development  of  the  country  owe 
a  large  measure  of  gratitude  for  the 
public  spirit  and  devotion  which  he 
has  shown  in  organizing  and  perfecting 
the  details  of  the  celebration. 

J.  Elfreth  Watkins,  C.  E.,  was  born 
in  Goochland  County,  Virginia,  in 
1852.  He  graduated  at  La  Fayette  Col- 
lege in  1871.  In  the  year  1872  he  be- 
came mining  engineer  for  the  Dela- 
ware and  Hudson  Canal,  and  in  1873 
was  appointed  assistant  engineer  of 
construction  for  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road, and  was  for  a  time  examiner  an  d 


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chief  clerk  of  the  Aniboy  Division. 
For  a  number  of  years  he  was  actively 
and  successfully  engaged  in  journal- 
ism, and  in  1886  he  was  appointed  En- 
gineer  and  Curator  of  Transportation 
and  Engineering  in  the  United  States 
National  Museum,  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, which  position  he  now  occu- 
pies, having  made  that  department 
one  of  the  most  successful  and  interest- 
ing connected  with  that  great  institu- 
tion. Professor  Watkins  is  the  author 
of  a  number  of  valuable  works,  among 
which  are  :  ' '  Semi-Centennial  History 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad, "  "  Elec- 
trical  Train  Lighting  in  England," 
"  Evolution  of  the  American  Passenger 
Car."  Aside  from  these  works  he  has 
written  a  number  of  valuable  papers 
on  scientific  and  historical  subjects. 
Professor  Watkins  is  a  member  of  the 
Philosophical  Society  of  Washington, 
also  of  the  Franklin  Institute,  and  the 
American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers. 

GEORGE  C.  MAYNARD. 

George  C.  Maynard,  an  active  and 
energetic  member  of  the  Executive 
Committee,  has  been  a  resident  of  this 
city  for  nearly  thirty  years.  He  came 
from  his  native  place,  Ann  Arbor, 
Michigan,  during  the  war,  and  joined 
the  Military  Telegraph  Corps,  in  which 
he  served  until  it  was  disbanded  at  the 
close  of  the  war.  He  was  chief  operator 
in  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Office 
until  1872,  when  he  was  selected  by 
Gen.  Albert  J.  Myer  to  organize  the 
telegraph  system  of  the  Weather 
Bureau.  After  two  years  service  in 
the  Signal  Office  he  resigned  to  engage 
in  private  business  as  an  electrical  en- 
gineer. He  assisted  Professor  Bell  in 
some  of  his  early  experiments,  was  one 
of  the  pioneers  in  the  telephone  busi- 
ness, and  organized  and,  for  five  years, 
managed  the  telephone  exchange  in 
this  city.  He  has  been  connected  with 
various  telegraph,  electric  light  and 
kindred  enterprises.  He  was  a  prac- 
tical telegraph  operator  before  he  was 
fifteen  years  old,  and  is  now  the  presi- 
dent of  the  "Old-Timers"  Telegraph 
Society,  also  a  member  of  the  National 
Electric  Ljght  Association,  the  Ameri- 
can and  English  Institutes  of  Elec- 
trical Engineers  and  other  scientific 
societies,  and  is  the  Washington  editor 
of  the  Electrical  Review. 


MARVIN  C.  STONE. 

Marvin  C.  Stone  was  graduated  from 
Oberlin  College,  Ohio,  in  1872,  and 
began  life  as  a  Washington  corre- 
spondent, representing  the  New  Or- 
leans Picayune,  the  Cleveland  Leader, 
and  various  other  journals.  He  finally 
drifted  into  the  manufacturing  busi- 
ness, and  is  to-day  the  largest  manu- 
facturer at  the  National  Capital,  em- 
ploying over  four  hundred  operatives, 
and  paying  out  considerably  over  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars  annually  in 
wages  alone. 

Mr.  Stone  has  taken  out  a  good 
many  patents,  all  of  which  have  be- 
come financially  successful ;  but  he 
bases  his  claim  as  an  inventor,  especi- 
ally upon  the  fact  that  he  has  given  to 
the  world  an  approved  writing  instru- 
ment, viz  ;  the  fountain  pen  as  it  is 
found  in  the  market  to-day.  In  a  re- 
cent judicial  decision  in  New  York  in 
which  the  court  sustained  Mr.  Stone's 
patent  and  granted  an  injunction  and 
an  accounting  with  costs,  Judge  Hoyt 
H.  Wheeler,  who  presided,  said : 
"Stone  invented  arid  patented  the  ca- 
pillary feed.  He  invented  'not  merely 
an  improvement  on  the  part  but  the 
part  itself.'  " 

Mr.  Stone  invented  a  pencil  sharp- 
ener, which  is  now  manufactured  in 
Ivondon,  England,  and  has  a  phenomi- 
nal  sale,  not  only  on  the  continent  but 
at  home.  He  also  invented  the  steel 
spring  for  coat  collars,  and  manufac- 
tures millions  of  straws  for  lemonade 
drinking.  But  perhaps  the  most  suc- 
cessful of  all  Mr.  Stone's  inventions  is 
his  mouth  piece  for  cigarettes,  of  which 
he  turns  out  the  enormous  quantity  of 
two  and  one-half  millions  daily. 

THE  COMMITTEE  ON  LITERATURE. 

When  it  was  known  that  Professor 
George  Brown  Goode,  the  Hon.  A.  R. 
Spofford  and  Llewellen  Deane,  Esq., 
had  consented  to  take  charge  of  the 
literary  program,  all  were  convinced 
that  the  literary  side  of  the  celebration 
would  be  a  grand  success.  It  would 
have  been  difficult  for  the  Central 
Committee  to  have  found  three  other 
gentlemen  better  qualified  for  the  diffi- 
cult and  important  task. 

The  chairman,  Professor  George 
Brown  Goode,  was  born  in  New  Al- 
bany, Ind.,  I3th  of  February,  1851. 


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509 


He  was  graduated  at  Wesley  an  Uni- 
versity in  1870,  pursued  a  postgraduate 
course  at  Cambridge,  and  in  1871  took 
charge  of  the  organization  of  the  Col- 
lege museum  at  Middletown.  In  1873 
he  received  an  appointment  on  the 
staff  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
and  on  the  organization  of  the  Na- 
tional Museum  became  its  assistant 
director,  and  in  1887  assistant  secre- 
tary of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
The  natural  history  division  of  the 
United  States  Government  at  the 
Philadelphia  exhibition  in  1876  was 
under  his  supervision.  He  was  United 
States  Commissioner  in  charge  of  the 
American  sections  at  the  International 
Fisheries  Exhibitions  in  Berlin  in  1880, 
and  in  London  in  1883,  and  was  also  a 
member  of  the  executive  board  for  the 
New  Orleans,  Cincinnati,  and  Louis- 
ville Expositions  in  1884,  and  is  of  the 
Board  of  Management  and  Control  of 
the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  of 
1893.  From  1872  until  1887  he  was 
intimately  associated  as  a  volunteer 
with  the  work  of  the  United  States 
Fish  Commission.  In  1877  he  was 
employed  by  the  Department  of  State 
as  statistical  expert  in  connection  with 
the  Halifax  Fisheries  Commission,  and 
in  1 879-' 80  was  in  charge  of  the  fish- 
eries division  of  the  Tenth  Census,  and 
in  1887  was  appointed  United  States 
Commissioner  of  Fisheries,  resigning 
the  position  early  in  1888.  He  has 
traveled  through  Europe  for  the  pur- 
pose of  studying  the  methods  of  ad- 
ministration of  public  museums,  and 
has  made  extensive  natural  history 
explorations  in  the  Bermudas,  and 
Florida.  His  published  papers  are 
numerous,  and  include  beside  several 
books  about  200  minor  titles  on  topics 
in  ichthyology,  museum  administra- 
tion, the  fishery  economy  and  Ameri- 
can History. 

THE   COMMITTEE   ON  FINANCE. 
HON.  JOSEPH  K.  MCCAMMON. 

Judge  McCammon  became  chair- 
man of  the  Finance  Committee  early 
in  February,  and  selecting  an  able 
committee  of  public-spirited  men,  he 
secured  for  the  guarantee  fund  in  less 
than  six  days  a  sum  amounting  to 
nearly  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  cheer- 
fully asked  the  committee  if  they  de- 
sired any  more. 


Hon.  Joseph  K.  McCammou  was 
born  in  Philadelphia,  October  13,  1845. 
He  graduated  in  1865  from  the  College 
of  New  Jersey,  at  Princeton.  In  1868 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Phila- 
delphia ;  was  a  candidate  for  the  Penn- 
sylvania Legislature  in  1869.  In  1877 
he  presided  over  a  board  to  investigate 
the  condition  of  the  Bureau  of  Indian 
Affairs.  In  April,  1880,  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  President  Hayes  Assistant 
Attorney  General,  and  assigned  to  the 
Interior  Department.  In  1881  he  was 
designated  by  President  Garfield  to 
negotiate  with  the  Indians  on  the  Fort 
Hall  Reservation,  Idaho — the  Shos- 
hones  and  Bannocks — and  in  1882  with 
the  Flatheads  and  other  Indians  in 
northwestern  Montana.  In  October, 
1 88 1,  he  was  appointed  by  President 
Arthur  Commissioner  of  Railroads, 
holding  this  position  with  the  Assist- 
ant Attorney-Generalship.  In  May, 
1885,  he  resigned  from  public  service, 
since  which  time  he  has  been  prac- 
ticing his  profession  in  the  city  of 
Washington .  He  was  chairman  of  the 
Reception  Committee  of  President 
Harrison's  Inauguration.  He  has  been 
President  of  the  Cosmos  Club;  of 
Washington,  and  is  a  member  of  sev- 
eral learned  societies  and  social  organ- 
izations. 

Coi,.  A.  T.  BRITTON. 

Col.  Britton,  the  President  of  the 
American  Security  and  Trust  Com- 
pany, is  the  Treasurer  of  the  Patent 
Centennial  Celebration  fund,  and  he 
has  lent  valuable  assistance  in  securing 
the  guarantee  fund.  The  excellent 
work  done  by  Messrs.  John  C.  Poor, 
Jas.  H.  Gridley,  Reginald  Fendall, 
George  C.  Maynard  and  J.  W.  Whelp- 
ley  of  the  Finance  Committee,  soon 
placed  in  the  hands  of  Treasurer  Brit- 
ton  the  handsome  sum  of  $10,000,  and 
he  then  asked  Judge  McCammon, 
chairman  of  the  committee,  if  he  de- 
sired any  more  funds.  When  the  enter- 
prising men  of  the  National  Capital 
say  a  thing  must  go,  it  glides  along  to 
its  destination  without  any  interrup- 
tion of  travel  worth  mentioning. 

ROBERT  W.  FENWICK 

Mr.    Robert  W.    Fenwick   was  the 

fortunate  man   who  had    the  public 

spirit  to   accept  the  chairmanship  of 

the  Arlington  meeting  after  a  number 


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of  prominent  men  had  declined.  All 
beginnings  are  difficult,  but  now  that 
the  difficult  beginning  has  developed 
into  a  magnificently  proportioned  na- 
tional movement  and  a  splendid  suc- 
cess, there  is  not  a  man  in  Washington 
but  what  would  have  felt  honored  had 
he  been  selected  to  preside  over  that 
Arlington  meeting  from  which  the 
organization  for  the  celebration  actu- 
ally sprang.  Mr.  Fenwick  was  born 
in  Washington  in  1832.  His  uncle, 
Benjamin  Fenwick,  was  one  of  the 
three  persons  who  composed  the  entire 
corps  in  charge  of  the  United  States 
Patent  Office  in  1816,  and  his  father, 
Mr.  Robert  W.  Fenwick,  was  one  of 
the  six  persons  who  constituted  the 
entire  force  of  the  office  in  i835~'36. 
Mr.  Fenwick  was  educated  in  tne  pub- 
lic schools  of  this  city,  and  in  1848 
entered  the  office  of  Mr.  William  P. 
Elliot,  the  architect  of  the  Patent 
Office.  Subsequently  he  was  engaged 
by  Munn  and  Company,  and  for  a 
time  had  charge  of  their  branch  office 
in  this  city.  Mr.  Fenwick  was  at  one 
time  one  of  the  aldermen  of  Washing- 
ton, and  has  been  president  of  the 
Washington  Free  Kindergarten. 

BRAINARD  H.  WARNER. 

Mr.  Brainard  H.  Warner,  who  from 
the  first  agitation  of  the  subject  of  the 
celebration  took  a  deep  interest  in  the 
movement,  is  a  member  of  the  Central 
Committee.  For  twenty  years  Mr. 
Warner  has  identified  himself  with 
the  progress  and  best  interests  of  the 
National  Capital.  He  is  at  the  head 
of  one  of  the  most  important  real- 
estate  firms  in  the  city  of  Washington, 
President  of  the  Columbia  National 
Bank,  President  of  the  Washington 
Loan  and  Trust  Company,  a  director 
in  a  number  of  other  well-known  com- 
mercial and  philanthropic  institutions 
and  is  one  of  the  busiest  and  most  suc- 
cessful men  at  the  Capital  of  the 
Nation. 

MYRON  M.  PARKER. 

Mr.  Parker,  during  many  years,  has 
been  prominently  identified  with  the 
business  interests  of  Washington,  and 
was  the  first  president  elected  to  pre- 
side over  the  Board  of  Trade  of  this 
city.     He  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
eading  spirits  in  the  progressive  Na- 
ional   Capital,  and    has    been    influ- 


ential in  promoting  its  welfare.  Mr. 
Parker  is  a  member  of  the  Central 
Committee. 

W.  C.  MclNTiRE. 

Mr.  W.  C.  Mclntire,  the  chairman 
of  the  Reception  Committee,  offered 
the  resolution  at  the  Arlington  meet- 
ing which  suggested  the  appointment 
of  a  Central  Committee  of  seven,  whose 
duty  should  be  to  look  after  the  de- 
tails of  the  arrangements  of  the  cele- 
bration. It  was  very  natural  there- 
fore that  he  should  have  been  chosen 
as  chairman  of  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant committees,  and  that  the  selec- 
tion was  wise  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  all  through  the  preliminary  ar- 
rangements for  the  celebration  he  has 
shown  much  tact  and  energy,  and  has 
secured  a  committee  composed  of  some 
of  the  most  prominent  and  public- 
spirited  gentlemen  at  the  National 
Capital.  The  invited  guests  will  find 
in  the  members  of  the  Reception  Com- 
mittee a  courteous,  polite  and  atten- 
tive body  of  men,  who  will  make  their 
sojourn  in  our  beautiful  city  an  event 
in  their  lives  that  will  long  be  remem- 
bered. 

ALEXANDER  D.  ANDERSON. 

The  National  Capital  has  many  good 
friends.  A  few  of  them  are  pre-emi- 
nently useful  friends,  and  Alexander 
D.  Anderson  ranks  among  the  very 
first  of  these.  For  years  Mr.  Ander- 
son has  been  devoting  much  of  his 
very  active  life  to  the  progress  and  de- 
velopment of  Washington  City,  which 
he  calls  the  "  Gem  city  of  the  world." 
He  it  was  who  long  before  any  other 
person  gave  it  thought,  brought  to  the 
attention  of  the  country  the  propriety 
of  celebrating  the  quadrennial  anni- 
versary of  the  discovery  of  the  New 
World,  and  he  named  and  fought  gal- 
lantly and  long  for  the  National  Capital 
as  the  most  fitting  place  for  the  great 
celebration,  and  although  he  lost  the 
battle  after  a  heroic  struggle,  the  Di- 
rectors of  the  World's  Fair  have  had 
the  eminently  good  sense  to  put  him 
in  charge  of  their  Eastern  Depart- 
ment, and  thus  secure  the  services  of 
the  best  man  in  the  country  for  the 
place.  In  the  earliest  efforts  of  the 
Inventive  Age  to  get  the  public  to 
favor  a  celebration  of  the  Beginning 
of  the  Second  Century  of  the  Ameri- 


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can  Patent  S3rstem,  Mr.  Anderson 
came  forward  and  took  an  active  and 
influential  part,  and  to  him  the  citi- 
zens of  Washington,  and  the  inventors 
and  manufacturers  of  the  country  owe 
a  debt  of  gratitude  for  the  early  and 
valuable  assistance  which  he  promptly 
gave  to  the  cause. 

W.  C.  DODGE. 

W.  C.  Dodge  is  a  native  of  New  Eng- 
land. He  went  West  in  1849  and  en- 
gaged in  journalism.  In  1851  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  and  taking  an 
interest  in  Minnesota  politics  was  sent 
as  delegate  to  a  number  of  State  con- 
ventions and  was  nominated  State 
senator.  In  the  winter  of  1860  he  was 
appointed  Assistant  Doorkeeper  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  in  1861 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  the  Hon. 
Caleb  B.  Smith,  appointed  him  Ex- 
aminer in  the  United  States  Patent 
Office,  which  position  he  filled  with 
ability  until  1864,  when  he  resigned  it 
and  established  himself  in  business  at 
the  National  Capital.  He  is  an  in- 
ventor, and  has  taken  out  twenty 
United  States  patents  and  several  for- 
eign patents.  He  was  presented  with 
a  medal  by  the  King  of  Italy  and  the 
King  of  Spain  with  a  decoration  for 
his  inventions  in  fire-arms  and  cart- 
ridge-loading machine.  He  was  active 
in  trying  to  secure  the  adoption  by  the 
Government  of  breech-loading  guns, 
and  published  an  able  pamphlet  on 
"Breech-Loaders  vs.  Muzzle-Loaders," 
in  recognition  of  which  the  breech- 
loading  gun  manufacturers  of  the  coun- 
try presented  him  with  numerous  me- 
mentoes. Mr.  Dodge  has  been  a  persist- 
ent and  active  champion  of  the  patent 
system,  and  has  often  appeared  before 
Congressional  committees  to  protest 
against  obnoxious  bills  which  if  passed 
would  have  been  very  injurious  to  the 
patent  system. 

SCHUYI.ER  DURYEE, 

Chairman  of  Committee  on  Medals 
and  Badges,  chief  clerk  United  States 
Patent  Office,  born  at  Pamrapo,  N.  J., 
January  13,  1847.  Educated  in  the 
public  schools  in  New  York  City,  and 
then  followed  mercantile  pursuits  until 
1871,  when  he  was  appointed  in  the 
Adjutant-General's  Office  of  the  War 
Department.  In  August,  1872,  was 


transferred  to  the  office  of  the  Chief  of 
Engineers,  and  on  November  i,  1872, 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  General 
Record  Division  in  said  office.  Re- 
mained in  that  position  until  January 
5,  1887,  when  he  was  appointed  by 
Hon.  E.  M.  Marble,  Commissioner  of 
Patents,  as  Chief  of  the  Assignment 
and  Copying  Division  in  the  United 
States  Patent  Office,  where  he  served 
until  he  was  appointed  Chief  Clerk  of 
the  Office  on  May  5,  1883.  He  served 
as  Chief  Clerk  to  Commissioners 
Marble,  Butterworth,  Montgomery 
and  Hall,  and  resigned  July  20,  1887, 
to  enter  the  patent  practice.  He  was 
reappointed  Chief  Clerk  by  Hon.  C.  E. 
Mitchell  May  2,  1889. 

JOSEPH  B.  MARVIN. 

Joseph  B.  Marvin,  of  Massachusetts, 
was  appointed  Chief  of  the  Draughts- 
man's Division  of  the  Patent  Office  to 
succeed  Marcellus  Gardner,  who  died 
in  October,  1888.  Mr.  Marvin  had 
previously  been  in  charge,  for  a  few 
months,  of  the  Issue  and  Gazette  Di- 
vision, but,  upon  Mr.  Gardner's  death, 
Commissioner  Ben  ton  J.  Hall  selected 
Mr.  Marvin  as  his  successor. 

The  duties  of  the  position  are  varied, 
and  require  chiefly  executive  ability. 

It  was  especially  in  view  of  Mr.  Mar- 
vin's experience  in  the  Issue  and  Ga- 
zette Division  that  he  was  selected  for 
his  present  position. 

The  Draughtsman's  Division  has  the 
custody  of  all  printed  copies  of  pat- 
ents, of  which  some  600,000  are  sold 
annually,  and  nearly  as  many  more 
are  selected  for  use  by  Examiners,  and 
for  foreign  exchange  and  the  Execu- 
tive Departments. 

This  Division  has  the  custody  of 
original  drawings  ;  accepts  or  rejects 
the  drawings  filed  with  applications 
for  patents  ;  and,  when  desired,  makes 
and  corrects  drawings  for  applicants. 
Among  the  other  manifold  duties  of 
the  Division  are  the  examination  of  all 
photo-lithographs  of  drawings,  and  the 
keeping  of  the  record  of  all  such  photo- 
lithography. 

Any  one  visiting  this  important  di- 
vision and  noticing  the  cramped  and 
crowded  condition  of  the  rooms,  and 
the  meagre  facilities  afforded  the  chief 
and  his  large  corps  of  intelligent  assist- 
ants for  the  proper  discharge  of  their 


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duties,  must  wonder  how  it  is  possible 
that  the  work  of  this  great  division  of 
the  Patent  Office  is  done  so  well  under 
the  manifold  difficulties  in  which  they 
are  performed.  Mr.  Marvin  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Advisory  Committee. 

[From  the  Washington  EVENING  STAR, 
April  8,  1891.] 

Only  the  civic  framers  and  the  mili- 
tary saviors  of  a  great  free  state  deserve 
more  of  the  commonwealth  than  do 
the  inventors  as  a  class.  Down  at  the 
bottom  of  things  is  the  original  in- 
ventor, the  man  who,  by  the  friction 
of  two  pieces  of  wood,  first  ascertained 
that  there  was  fire  elsewhere  than  in 
the  heart  of  man  and  the  physical  cen- 
ter of  the  universe.  Then  came  the 
early  agriculturists  with  their  plow- 
thongs  made  of  hardened  timber  tick- 
ling the  hard  surface  of  the  earth  in 
such  wise  as  to  cause  the  laughing  soil 
to  give  forth  of  its  resources  an  abund- 
ance of  provision  for  primeval  man. 
It  was  not  until  cities  were  formed  as 
nuclei  for  embryo  states  that  inven- 
tive art  in  its  true  sense  was  devel- 
oped, as  other  things  are  developed, 
out  of  the  necessities  and  wants  of  man. 
Consider  the  stride  from  the  primitive 
plow  of  the  akkadians  to  the  McCor- 
mick  reaper,  from  the  burnt-brick  libra- 
ries of  Babylon  and  Nineveh  to  the 
superb  treasures  in  movable  types  and 
sumptuous  bindings  that  stand,  piled 
tier  on  tier,  in  the  British  Museum  and 
the  Library  of  Congress.  I/coking  at 
civilization  in  this  way  and  reflecting 
how  impressive  even  commonplace 
facts  are  when  lifted  into  a  philosophic 
system  as  indices  of  progress,  the  pri- 
macy of  the  framers  of  constitutions 
that  set  patterns  of  civic  grandeur  for 
ages  and  of  patriot  soldiers  may  even 
seem  dubious.  Hence,  when  the  chief 
promoters  of  American  inventive  art — 
the  inventors  and  designers  and  those 
who  put  their  inventions  and  designs 
into  every-day  use — come  to  Washing- 
ton to  celebrate  the  centennary  of  the 
patent  system  of  the  United  States,  it 
is  everywhere  regarded  as  a.  most  sig- 
nal event.  This  is  a  practical  people — 
this  an  age  of  grand  material  results. 
Here,  at  the  political  center  of  the 
hemisphere,  at  the  capital  of  the  great 
republic,  distinguished  for  its  indus- 
trial advancement  as  well  as  its  intel- 


lectual power  and  the  freedom  of  its 
institutions,  is  the  true  seat  of  Ameri- 
can art,  science  and  learning, 

Lafayette  in  1824  was  the  distin- 
guished guest  of  the  republic  in  the 
hour  of  its  morning  enthusiasm.  Pa- 
triotism, now  as  then,  mingles  [with 
gratitude  in  our  tender  of  hospitality. 
The  noble  Frenchman  aided  Washing- 
ton in  freeing  America  from  political 
thralls.  These  native  Lafayettes  of 
industry  have  aided  our  later  leaders 
and  statesmen  in  breaking  America's 
bonds  of  commercial  dependence. 


[From  the  Washington  EVENING  STAR, 
April  10,  1891.] 

The  United  States  have,  as  an  indus- 
trial people,  considering  their  youth, 
eclipsed  all  history.  But  the  whole 
Union  has  not  advanced  at  equal  pace 
and  the  friction  of  the  delay  has  re- 
tarded the  general  movement.  The 
great  evil  of  slavery  was  the  fault  of 
the  world — the  curse  chiefly  of  the 
States  practicing  it.  The  inventive 
genius  of  the  old  slave  States  has,  how- 
ever, produced  three  thousand  patents 
during  the  last  twelve  months.  The 
mines  and  manufactures  of  these  com- 
munities are  no  longer  toys  or  experi- 
ments. Invention,  business  wisdom 
and  pluck  are  planting  the  banners  of 
progress  in  the  western  arid  plains  as 
well  as  on  the  wasted  fields  of  the 
south.  The  present  assemblage  here 
of  the  inventors  and  manufacturers  of 
patented  articles  marks  the  highest 
point  of  advantage  yet  gained  in  the 
whole  nation's  material  progress  ;  but 
this  eminence  merely  permits  us  a 
glimpse  of  the  brilliant  prospects  of 
future  America  in  this  line  of  develop- 
ment. 


[From  the  WASHINGTON  POST,  April  10,  1891.] 
A  NOTABLE  CENTENNIAL. 

To-day  is  the  hundreth  anniversary 
of  the  signing  by  the  first  President  of 
the  Republic  of  the  law  which,  accord- 
ing to  its  title,  was  designed  to  pro- 
mote the  sciences  and  useful  arts  by 
securing  to  authors  and  inventors,  for 
a  certain  period,  the  exclusive  right  of 
property  in  their  works  and  inven- 
tions, and  the  occasion  is  being  appro- 


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5*3 


priately  celebrated  by  the  convention 
of  prominent  inventors  from  all  parts 
of  the  country  now  in  session  in  this 
city. 

The  wisdom  of  the  patent  law  has 
been  amply  justified  by  the  results 
which  have  followed  its  enactment 
through  a  century  of  industrial  de- 
velopment. From  a  small  beginning 
the  patent  system  has  grown  to  im- 
mense proportions,  until  to-day  it  em- 
braces very  many  of  the  most  impor- 
tant interests  of  the  civilized  world. 
At  first  its  progress  was  slow,  in  1791 
but  thirty-three  patents  being  issued, 
and  in  the  subsequent  year  only  eleven. 
Even  in  1836,  when  the  new  law  was 
passed  which  organized  the  Patent 
Office  substantially  in  its  present  form, 
the  number  of  patents  issued  was  only 
109.  But  as  science  progressed  and 
as  the  needs  and  imperfections  of  in- 
dustrial processes  came  to  be  under- 
stood, their  issue  greatly  increased, 
keeping  pace  steadily  with  the  pros- 
perity and  marvelous  development  of 
the  country,  until  last  year  the  issue 
amounted  to  26,292.  The  greatness  of 
this  growth  may  be  estimated  from  the 
fact  that  the  Patent  Office,  which,  from 
1802  to  1828,  consisted  of  a  superin- 
tendent and  two  clerks,  to-day  has 
thirty-six  divisions  and  600  employes. 

The  effect  of  our  patent  system,  as 
established  by  law,  and  administered 
as  an  agency  of  the  Government,  has 
been  to  make  our  country  the  natural 
home  of  the  inventor,  and  it  is  more 
than  probable  that  many  of  the  achieve- 
ments which  mark  the  progress  of  the 
century  would  not  have  been  made 
but  for  the  stimulation  afforded  by  it 
to  inventive  genius,  in  the  prospect  of 
large  and  secure  pecuniary  rewards. 
That  such  rewards  have  frequently  fol- 
lowed as  the  result  of  inventions  is 
shown  in  many  conspicuous  instances, 
but  the  excellence  of  the  system  is 
made  apparent  by  the  fact  that,  where 
immense  fortunes  have  been  made  in 
supplying  some  ingenious  contrivance 
in  universal  demand,  an  incalculable 
benefit  has  been  at  the  same  time  con- 
ferred upon  the  great  body  of  the 
people. 

It  were  needless  to  observe  that  all 
the  great  mechanical  discoveries  and 
the  most  valuable  applications  of  scien- 
tific principles  to  the  useful  arts  in 


modern  times  have  had  the  closest 
relationship  to  the  operation  of  the 
patent  laws.  To  them  may  be  directly 
attributed  the  application  of  steam  to 
navigation,  the  world-girdling  tele- 
graph, the  various  methods  by  which 
electricity  is  made  to  produce  light  and 
motion  and  to  store  and  convey  sound, 
the  multitudes  of  inventions  which  in 
the  home,  the  workshop,  the  field,  the 
mine,  and  the  furnace  have  revolu- 
tion zed  so  many  branches  of  industry 
and  have  proved  so  generally  beneficial 
to  mankind — in  a  word,  all  those 
means  of  material  achievement  which 
make  our  time  richer  and  fuller,  more 
prosperous  and  more  hopeful  of  pro- 
gress than  all  preceding  ages. 


[From  the  Washington  EVENING  STAR, 
April  ii,  1891.] 

The  banquet  given  last  night  by  the 
Board  of  Trade,  commemorative  of  the 
centenary  of  the  American  patent  sys- 
tem and  of  the  laying  of  the  corner- 
stone of  the  District,  was  a  notable 
success.  The  board  of  trade  takes  the 
place  of  the  common  councils  of  the 
ordinary  city  in  tendering  municipal 
hospitality  to  distinguished  guests,  and 
Washington  has  reason  to  be  proud  of 
the  hospitable  welcome  which  was  last 
night  given  in  her  name  to  her  guests, 
the  inventors  of  the  country. 


[From  the  WASHINGTON  POST,  April  11, 1891.] 
A  BRILLIANT  BANQUET. 

The  patent  celebration  which  has 
been  in  progress  in  this  city  during  the 
week  came  to  a  brilliant  close  at  the 
Arlington  Hotel  last  night  with  a  ban- 
quet given  by  the  Board  of  Trade  in 
commemoration  of  the  Patent  Cen- 
tennial and  of  the  centennial  of  the 
founding  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 
The  occasion  was  notable  not  only  for 
the  elaborate  plan  on  which  it  had 
been  projected,  but  also  because  every 
Department  of  the  Government  was 
represeuted  by  a  Cabinet  officer  or  his 
chief  assistant,  and  the  Supreme  Court 
was  present  in  the  person  of  Associate 
Justice  Harlan.  At  the  head  of  the 
table  sat  as  distinguished  a  gathering 
of  men  as  are  to  be  met  with  in  many 
a  day's  travel,  while  around  the  hand- 
somely decorated  board  were  the  rep- 


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resentative  merchants  of  the  Capital 
City.  In  the  menu,  decorations,  and 
general  appointments  the  dinner  was 
a  memorable  one,  even  in  the  city 
where  the  art  of  giving  dinners  has 
grown  to  be  a  science.  The  responses 
to  the  toasts,  which  concluded  the  en- 
tertainment, were  in  keeping  with  the 
high  character  of  the  event.  Mr. 
Myron  M.  Parker,  as  the  President  of 
the  Board  of  Trade,  presided.  By  his 
side  was  the  commanding  form  of  Jus- 
tice Harlan,  and  near  him  were  Secre- 
taries Foster  and  Noble,  Assistant 
Secretary  of  War  Grant,  Assistant  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy  Soley,  and  Assist- 
ant Postmaster  General  Whitfield. 

When  the  guests  had  been  escorted 
into  the  dining-hall  they  found  the 
tables  set  for  over  200,  and  the  spark- 
ling glass  and  decorated  china,  with 
generous  bunches  of  rare  roses  in 
terra-cotta  jars,  made  up  a  picture 
worthy  of  an  artist's  brush.  At  each 
plate  was  an  extremely  artistic  menu 
card,  bearing  a  representation  of  the 
genius  of  invention,  while  the  seal  of 
the  Patent  Office,  fastened  with  blue 
ribbon  in  true  legal  style,  formed  a 
unique  and  striking  feature  of  its  orna- 
mentation. It  took  two  hours  to  dis- 
cuss the  enjoyable  feast  which  had 
been  provided. 


[From  the  WASHINGTON  POST,  April  n,  1891.] 
THE  MILITARY  PARADE. 

Excellent  Display  Causes  Applause  All 
Along  the  Line  of  March. 

The  Avenue  was  lined  during  the 
afternoon  with  the  usual  crowd  of  ad- 
mirers of  the  boys  in  blue,  who  made 
a  most  creditable  showing  on  parade. 
All  the  District  militia,  the  troops  from 
Fort  Myer  and  the  Arsenal,  and  the 
High  School  Cadets  were  in  line.  The 
soldiers  marched  in  excellent  order, 
and  their  various  evolutions  were 
accomplished  with  a  precision  that 
brought  forth  applause  all  along  the 
line.  The  orders  were  obeyed  with 
accuracy  and  skill. 

The  companies  assembled  in  the 
White  Lot,  where  they  were  reviewed 
by  the  President,  and  continued  their 
march  along  Pennsylvania  Avenue. 
The  Third  Artillery  band,  the  National 
Guard  band  and  drum  corps,  and  the 
band  from  the  Naval  Academy,  which 


preceded  the  High  School  Cadets,  fur- 
nished the  music. 

The  battalion  of  six  companies  of 
High  School  Cadets  was  one  of  the 
most  interesting  parts  of  the  parade, 
and  it  was  greeted  all  along  the  line  of 
march  by  well-merited  applause  from 
the  spectators.  Marching  in  double 
rank  formation,  with  good  broad  fronts 
to  the  companies,  the  dress  being  per- 
fect in  both  ranks,  the  boys  looked 
soldierly  in  every  particular.  Their 
discipline  and  the  perfection  of  their 
drill  reflect  credit  alike  upon  them- 
selves and  their  able  instructor,  Capt. 
Burton  R.  Ross,  who  has  been  tireless 
in  his  efforts  to  bring  this  organization 
up  to  the  highest  standard. 

[From  THE  ELECTRICAL  WORLD, 
April  18,  1891.1 

CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION  OF  THE 
ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  AMERICAN 
PATENT  SYSTEM. 

The  Congress  of  Inventors  and  Manu- 
facturers of  Patented  Inventions,  con- 
vened to  celebrate  the  beginning  of  the 
second  century  of  the  American  patent 
system,  met  in  Washington  on  Wed- 
nesday, Thursday  and  Friday  of  last 
week,  as  already  announced  in  these 
columns,  and  was  in  every  respect  a 
most  brilliant  success.  The  gentlemen 
who  worked  so  energetically  and  so 
conscientiously  to  perfect  the  numer- 
ous arrangements  for  the  celebration 
may  well  feel  proud  of  the  result. 

The  weather  during  the  meeting  was 
spring-like  and  delightful,  the  papers 
read  and  the  addresses  delivered  were 
by  some  of  our  most  prominent 
thinkers  and  public  speakers,  and  were 
in  keeping  with  the  importance  of  the 
occasion.  The  President  of  the  United 
States,  members  of  the  Cabinet,  Jus- 
tices of  the  Supreme  Court,  members 
of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  officers  of 
the  different  engineering  societies — 
electrical,  mechanical,  civil  and  min- 
ing— distinguished  educators  and  many 
other  staunch  friends  of  the  patent  sys- 
tem, testified  by  their  presence  their 
interest  in  its  preservation  and  develop- 
ment. Many  of  the  best  known  in- 
ventors of  the  country  were  in  attend- 
ance, including  several  whose  names 
have  become  household  words  among 
electricians. 


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515 


In  addition  to  the  interest  shown  in 
the  proceedings  of  the  congress,  an 
important  outgrowth  of  the  celebra- 
tion was  the  establishment  of  a  perma- 
nent organization  of  inventors  and 
manufacturers  of  patented  inventions, 
mentioned  more  at  length  in  another 
article  in  this  issue,  and  from  which 
there  is  every  reason  to  expect  results 
of  a  most  beneficial  character  in  the 
years  to  come. 

The  first  public  meeting  of  the  in- 
ventors took  place  on  Wednesday 
afternoon,  at  230,  at  the  I/incoln 
Music  Hall.  President  Harrison  pre- 
sided. Beside  him  on  the  platform 
were  Secretary  of  the  Interior  Noble, 
Postmaster-General  Wanamaker,  Chief 
Justice  Fuller  and  Justices  Blatchford 
and  Harlan  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States  ;  Hon.  John  Lynch, 
chairman  ;  Prof.  J.  Elfreth  Watkins, 
secretary;  Marvin  C.  Stone  and  George 
C.  Maynard,  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  Centennial  Celebration  ; 
Hon.  Charles  Elliott  Mitchell,  Com- 
missioner of  Patents  ;  Senator  O.  H. 
Platt,  of  Connecticut,  Chairman  of  the 
Senate  Committee  on  Patents,  and 
Hon.  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Commis- 
sioner of  Labor.  Among  the  ladies  on 
the  platform  was  Mrs.  Alfred  Vail, 
whose  husband  (uncle  of  Mr.  Theodore 
N.  Vail  of  the  American  Bell  Tele- 
phone Company)  was  associated  with 
Professor  Morse  in  the  practical  de- 
velopment of  the  telegraph.  Prof.  A. 
Graham  Bell,  inventor  of  the  tele- 
phone, with  his  father,  A.  Melville 
Bell,  and  his  father-in-law,  Gardiner 
G.  Hubbard,  occupied  a  private  box. 

Chairman  Lynch  announced  the 
organization  of  the  congress  as  com- 
pleted. The  President  of  the  United 
States  had  been  chosen  president  of 
the  celebration  ;  Professor  Bell  repre- 
sented the  electrical  industry  in  the 
list  of  vice-presidents,  and  among  the 
honorary  vice-presidents  were  the  fol- 
lowing electricians  :  Prof.  William  A. 
Anthony,  Charles  F.  Brush,  Thomas 
A.  Edison,  Dr.  Norvin  Green,  Gardiner 
G.  Hubbard.  Prof.  T.  C.  Mendenhall 
and  Prof.  Elihu  Thomson. 

Professor  Watkins,  Hon.  John  Lynch 
and  the  other  members  of  the  execu- 
tive committee  deserve  the  highest 
praise  for  their  unremitting  efforts  in 
organizing  and  carrying  out  the  great 


work.  The  residents  of  Washington, 
as  a  whole,  particularly  the  President, 
the  members  of  the  Cabinet,  the  Board 
of  Trade,  whose  banquet  on  Friday 
night  to  the  members  of  the  principal 
committees  was  one  of  the  most  note- 
worthy Washington  has  ever  seen,  the 
various  patent  officials  and  patent  at- 
torneys, as  well  as  the  business  men 
generally,  have  earned  the  warmest 
gratitude  of  the  inventors  of  the  coun- 
try for  the  princely  manner  in  which 
they  treated  those  who  attended  the 
congress.  The  delightful  visit  to 
Mount  Vernon,  the  reception  by  the 
President  and  the  review  of  the  troops 
from  the  White  Lot,  the  reception  by 
Secretary  Noble  and  Commissioner  of 
Patents  Mitchell  at  the  Patent  Office, 
and  the  many  other  honors  showered 
upon  the  inventors,  make  the  occasion 
one  that  none  of  those  present  will 
ever  be  likely  to  forget. 


[.From  THE  INVENTIVE  AGE,  Washington, 
April  21,  1891.] 

IT  WAS  A  GREAT  SUCCESS. 

Since  the  one  hundredth  anniver- 
sary of  our  national  independence  was 
fittingly  commemorated  in  Philadel- 
phia fifteen  years  ago,  many  centennial 
celebrations  have  occurred  in  various 
parts  of  the  country.  The  Federal 
Government,  the  governments  of 
States  and  cities  and  numerous  vener- 
able organizations  of  citizens  have 
united  in  celebrating  centennial  anni- 
versaries of  great  events.  The  wealth, 
the  learning,  the  patriotism  and  enter- 
prise of  grateful  millions  have  cheer- 
fully contributed  to  make  these 
obervances  so  memorable  that  they 
will  stand  as  historic  monuments.  But 
no  centennial  in  all  the  long  and 
splendid  list  was  more  successful  than 
that  which  occurred  in  this  city  on  the 
8th,  9th  and  loth  insts.  True,  it  did 
not  bring  together  great  masses  of 
people  from  all  parts  of  the  country, 
nor  was  such  a  gathering  hoped  for, 
but  it  did  assemble  hundreds  of  great 
thinkers,  hundreds  of  men  whose 
achievements  are  immortal,  whose  dis- 
coveries have  been  essential  factors  in 
the  progress  of  our  age. 

All  things  considered,  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  so  distinguished  a  gathering 
as  that  which  met  in  Lincoln  Hall  to 


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inaugurate  the  second  century  of  the 
American  Patent  System  was  never 
before  seen  in  this  country.  We  have 
had  great  conventions  of  scholars,  of 
politicians,  of  jurists,  of  professional 
men,  of  benevolent  associations  and 
of  various  industrial  and  social  inter- 
ests. Such  meetings  have  occupied 
larger  space  in  the  daily  papers  than 
was  accorded  this  convention,  and 
they  have  often  been  wonderfully  sue 
cessful  in  advancing  worthy  aims.  But 
that  gathering  of  less  than  one  thou- 
sand persons  was  such  an  assemblage 
that  the  President  of  the  United  States 
might  well  have  felt  honored  in  being 
called  to  address  it.  He  and  other 
prominent  officials  showed  a  just 
appreciation  of  the  importance  of  the 
event.  Statesmen  who  are  worthy  of 
the  name  recognize  the  part  applied 
science  bears  in  the  development  of 
material  resources  and  in  the  social, 
intellectual  and  moral  progress  of  a 
people.  It  is  only  the  narrow-gauge 
politician — a  creature  whom  not  even 
death  can  transform  into  a  statesman 
— that  sneers  at  invention. 

The  one  great  feature  of  the  success 
of  this  centennial,  a  feature  in  which 
it  was  incomparably  superior  to  any 
other  celebration  in  this  country  or 
Europe,  was  its  literature.  The  ad- 
dresses delivered  covered  a  broader 
field  than  was  ever  before  entered 
upon  by  any  single  organization,  and 
there  was  no  shallow  plowing.  There 
is  no  man  or  woman  so  high  or  so  low 
that  his  or  her  interests  are  not  em- 
braced in  some  or  all  of  the  papers 
presented.  Taken  together  these  pa- 
pers constitute  not  merely  a  monument 
to  the  fame  of  the  inventors  of  the 
United  States,  but  a  great  magazine  of 
facts,  clothed  in  elegant  verbal  dra- 
pery and  calculated  to  exert  a  lasting 
influence.  When  the  report  of  the 
meetings,  including  all  the  addresses, 
is  published,  it  will  be  one  of  the 
great  books  of  the  century,  and  there 
is  no  citizen  so  wise  that  he  will  not 
be  able  to  draw  instruction  from  it,  no 
worker  in  any  field  of  honorable 
effort  but  will  find  encoviragement  and 
help  in  its  pages.  The  speakers  in- 
cluded men  who  have  long  been  recog- 
nized for  profundity  of  thought  and 
felicity  of  expression,  and  they  brought 
the  best  of  their  mental  stores  to  this 
centennial. 


Invention  — protected  invention — in- 
vention stimulated  and  protected  by 
an  admirable  patent  system — has  en- 
tered upon  its  second  century  on  a 
higher  plane  than  it  has  ever  before 
occupied.  As  a  direct  result  of  this 
celebration  thousands  now  understand 
the  relations  of  invention  to  society, 
for  every  ten  who,  a  few  weeks  ago, 
knew,  or  cared  to  know,  anything 
about  the  subject.  Good  seed  has 
been  sown  over  a  vast  area  of  fertile 
soil,  and  there  will  be  a  rapid  growth 
of  just  appreciation.  Hereafter  Con- 
gressmen will  have  a  popular  senti- 
ment behind  them  pressing  for  justice 
to  the  inventors,  and  the  old,  old 
story  of  neglect  will  cease  to  be  re- 
peated. The  millions  collected  from 
inventors  will  be  expended  in  promot- 
ing the  objects  for  which  the  patent 
system  was  created.  Every  year  of 
the  new  century  will  witness  fresh 
triumphs.  The  men  who  celebrate 
the  next  centennial  in  1991  will  look 
back  upon  another  century  as  wonder- 
ful as  that  which  we  review.  The 
good  results  of  the  convention  of  this 
year  will  be  a  theme  of  discourse  for 
many  a  decade.  As  for  the  Inventive 
Age,  which  originated  this  celebration 
and  worked  indefatigably  to  insure  its 
success,  it  is  enjoying  that  satisfaction 
which  comes  of  well  doing. 

AT  WASHINGTON'S  TOMB. 
The  large  steamer  Excelsior  moved 
away  from  the  Seventh  street  dock  at 
ii  o'clock  Friday  morning,  April  loth, 
with  about  one  thousand  of  the  hap- 
piest, brightest,  and  brainiest  persons 
that  ever  sailed  over  the  placid  bosom 
of  the  broad  Potomac.  The  great 
saloon  running  the  whole  length  of 
the  vessel  was  well  filled  with  cheer- 
ful, happy  mortals,  among  whom  were 
Dr.  Gatling,  the  inventor  of  the  Gat- 
ling  gun  ;  Iv.  E.  Waterman,  the  inven- 
tor of  the  Ideal  fountain  pen;  Mr. 
Plimpton,  the  inventor  of  the  roller- 
skate;  George  Westinghouse,the  inven- 
tor of  the  air-brake;  the  Canadian  Com- 
missioner of  Patents  ;  the  U.  S.  Com- 
missioner of  Patents  ;  Congressman 
Butterworth,  J.Thomas  Jones,  of  Utica, 
N.  Y.  ;  W.  J.  Johnston,  of  the  Electrical 
World;  F.  E.  Sickles  ;  Col.  J.  A.  Price  ; 
John  A.  Milliken,  of  New  York ;  E.  D. 
Smith,  of  Pittsburg  ;  J.  F.  Harris,  of 
Fort  Edward  ;  C.  C.  I/inindoll,  of  Fort 


NEWSPAPER    COMMENTS. 


517 


Edward,  N.  Y.,  and  a  large  number  of 
well-known  inventors  and  manufac- 
turers. 

On  the  bow  of  the  vessel  was  the 
famous  naval  band  of  Annapolis,  while 
in  the  stern  was  Mr.  Pistori's  band, 
and  -both  were  kept  busy  all  day  long. 

On  arriving  at  Mount  Vernon  the 
Annapolis  band  headed  the  procession 
and  a  solemn  march  was  made  to  the 
sacred  resting-place  of  Washington, 
where,  with  uncovered  heads,  the  vis- 
itors viewed  the  crypt  containing  the 
marble  sarcophagus  of  Washington 
and  his  wife.  The  procession  then 
moved  on  to  the  beautiful  lawn  in  front 
of  the  mansion,  where  a  large  photo- 
graph was  taken.  After  this  the  man- 
sion was  visited  and  the  relics  de- 
scribed. A  half  hour  was  given  to  this 
part  of  the  program,  during  which  the 
baud  played  "The  Star  Spangled  Ban- 
ner" and  "  My  Country,  'tis  of  Thee." 
Dr.  Toner  then  delivered  an  able  and 
very  original  address  from  the  west 
piazza  of  the  mansion,  to  which  all  of 
the  excursionists  paid  the  closest 
attention.  This  address  will  appear  in 
the  Memorial  volumes.  At  the  close 
of  Dr.  Toner's  address  a  very  interest- 
ing incident  occurred.  Col.  J.W.  Bab- 
son,  the  Chairman  of  the  Central  Com- 
mittee of  the  Patent  Centennial  Cele- 
bration, presented  two  bouquets  of 
white  and  red  roses  respectively  to  the 
Canadian  Commissioner  of  Patents  and 
the  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Patents,  who  were  sitting  together 
upon  the  piazza  overlooking  the  beau- 
tiful lawn  to  the  west  of  the  mansion. 
These  roses  had  been  cut  from  the 
greenhouse  built  by  the  Father  of  his 
Country,  and  the  Canadian  Commis- 
sioner so  appreciated  the  compliment 
that  when  he  arrived  in  Washington 
he  had  the  flowers  carefully  preserved 
and  expressed  to  his  Canadian  home 
as  a  souvenir  of  his  visit  to  the  Cen- 
tennial Celebration,  which  he  pro- 
nounced as  the  most  agreeable  and 
interesting  affair  that  he  had  ever 
attended.  After  the  speech  of  Dr. 
Toner  the  Excelsior  gave  a  deep  bass 
warning  that  it  was  time  to  depart  in 
order  to  reach  Washington  in  time  for 
the  reception  at  the  White  House  and 
the  military  review  by  the  President 
in  the  White  Lot. 

On  the  return  Congressman  Butter- 


worth  distinguished  himself  and  de- 
lighted the  visitors  by  delivering  one 
of  the  wittiest  and  most  charming 
speeches  of  his  life.  He  spoke  in  the 
bow  portion  of  the  broad  saloon  of  the 
vessel,  and  the  excursionists  gathered 
and  packed  themselves  about  him  so 
closely  that  he  had  hardly  room  for 
his  gestures.  He  was  in  the  best  of 
humor,  and  in  two  minutes  everybody 
caught  the  genial  spirit  that  charac- 
terized the  speaker,  and  Mr.  Butter- 
worth  soon  found  himself  in  the  midst 
of  an  audience  that  was  in  close  touch 
with  every  word  he  uttered.  He  spoke 
as  by  inspiration.  Every  sentence 
fairly  reveled  in  wit.  Benjamin  But- 
terworth  was  at  his  best.  A  roar  went 
up  when  he  said  that  "  Ben  Franklin, 
if  alive  to-day,  could  not  pass  a  civil- 
service  examination  for  fourth-class 
examiner  in  the  electrical  division  of 
the  Patent  Office. ' '  They  laughed  more 
heartily  when  he  said  he  used  to  be- 
lieve that  every  inventor  was  a  sort  of 
long-haired  genius  and  the  Patent 
Office  a  clearing-house  for  cranks,  and 
he  did  not  know  that  he  was  very  far 
from  wrong.  Then  they  fairly  roared 
when  he  added,  naively,  that  there 
were,  of  course,  no  cranks  present. 

Mr.  Butterworth  grew  more  serious 
as  he  said  that  last  session  he  had  sev- 
eral wrestles  with  members  of  Con- 
gress who  thought  that  inventors  had 
no  rights  which  the  public  were  bound 
to  respect,  and  he  hinted  that  there 
might  be  a  struggle  in  the  future  if  the 
products  of  a  man's  brains  were  to  be 
preserved  against  communistic  theo- 
ries. He  grew  eloquent  as  he  insisted 
that  that  which  a  man  used  he  could 
afford  to  pay  for,  and  that  if  a  manu- 
facturer saved  so  many  dollars  a  day 
by  the  use  of  an  invention  he  ought  to 
be  made  to  share  with  the  inventor 
some  portion  of  his  gains.  At  this 
sentiment  there  was,  of  course,  loud 
applause. 

Then  Mr.  Butterworth  took  quite  an 
original  view  of  the  progress  of  inven- 
tion. He  said  when  a  boy  he  had 
often  pondered  with  awe  on  the  won- 
ders which  the  mythological  gods 
were  said  to  have  performed.  "  And 
yet,"  he  said,  "everything  which  had 
been  attributed  by  fable  to  these  gods 
was  now  an  every-day  affair.  The 
thunderbolts  of  Jupiter  were  play- 


NEWSPAPER    COMMENTS. 


things  compared  to  the  mighty  mis- 
siles thrown  by  a  twenty-inch  gun  ; 
Neptune  never  rode  the  sea  with  such 
an  armament  as  that  commanded  by 
Farragut ;  not  a  blacksmith  of  to-day 
would  use  the  tools  which  Vulcan  had; 
there  is  not  a  contractor  who  would  not 
undertake  to  accomplish  the  twelve 
labors  of  Hercules  and  give  bond  to 
complete  them  in  half  the  time  the  son 
of  Jupiter  occupied  ;  and  the  winged 
god  Mercury  could  not  pack  his 
satchel  and  start  on  his  errand  before 
Morse  would  have  the  message  deliv- 
ered. The  fickle  Helen,  standing  on 
the  walls  of  Troy,  could,  with  a  few 
modern  guns,  have  by  the  touch  of 
her  dainty  fingers  destroyed  all  the 
armies  and  the  fleets  of  the  might}' 
Greeks." 

At  the  close  of  Mr.  Butterworth's 
stirring  address  the  Canadian  Com- 
missioner of  Patents  spoke  briefly,  con- 
gratulating the  Government  and  the 
committees  on  the  success  of  the  cele  - 
bration,  and  the  inventors  of  the  United 
States  on  their  splendid  patent  system, 
and  also  upon  their  individual  achieve- 
ments. When  he  said  that  Canada 
was  trying  to  model  her  patent  system 
after  our  own,  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
auditors  was  unbounded. 

The  boat  reached  the  wharf  at  4 
o'clock, and  the  excursionists  hurriedly 
took  the  cable-car  for  the  White  House, 
to  attend  the  reception  tendered  them 
by  the  President. 

The  success  of  the  Mount  Vernon 
trip  was  largely  due  to  Col.  W.  B. 
Thompson,  the  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee on  transportation,  who  per- 
sonally superintended  the  arrange- 
ments. 

RARE  COU<ECTIONS   OF  ANCIENT  DE- 
VICES AT  THE  NATION AI,  MUSEUM. 

The  two  first  talking  machines  ever 
made  are  on  exhibition  in  the  lecture 
hall  of  the  National  Museum.  There 
were  a  great  many  other  curious  things 
gathered  in  that  apartment,  put  there 
for  the  edification  and  instruction  of 
those  who  were  interested  in  the  Pat- 
ent Centennial.  There  was  a  case  full 
of  talking  machines,  and  subscribers 
who  are  continually  tangling  them- 
selves with  "central  "  might  have  dis- 
covered in  the  interior  of  one  of  the 
instruments  the  causes  of  their  trouble. 


The  first  talking  machine  is  a  small 
walnut  cone  divided.  The  apex  is  the 
receiver;  the  truncated  portion  the 
transmitter.  Those  who  ought  to 
know  say  it  talks  well,  but  no  com- 
pany could  collect  a  rental  of  $90  per 
annum  upon  any  such  looking  thing 
as  it  is.  Bell's  liquid  transmitter  is  in 
the  case,  and  so  is  the  first  form  of 
hand  telephone.  This  must  have  made 
even  the  inventor  tired,  for  it  is  enor- 
mously large,  and  affords  a  striking 
contrast  to  the  ear  trumpet  of  the  in- 
struments now  so  common.  The  first 
experimental  forms  of  the  Blake  trans- 
mitter were  shown,  and  alongside  of 
them  are  the  component  parts  of  a 
long-distance  telephone.  How  far  this 
latter  will  work  no  one  knows.  This 
valuable  collection  belongs  mostly  to 
Professor  Bell. 

Mr.  H.  V.  Hayes,  who  arranged  the 
exhibit,  talked  with  his  family  in 
their  home  in  Cambridge,  Mass.,  a 
mere  matter  of  500  miles.  Edison's 
motorphone  was  shown  in  the  tele- 
phone case. 

An  antique  electrical  railway,  dating 
back  to  1837,  was  also  one  of  the  inter- 
esting curios  of  the  collection,  attract- 
ing as  much  general  attention, 
perhaps,  as  the  original  telegraph  in- 
strument used  at  the  Baltimore  end  of 
the  line  which  made  S.  F.  B.  Morse 
and  Stephen  Vail  famous. 

A  good  many  people  clustered 
around  a  big  case  in  the  center  of  the 
room.  The  growth  of  photographic 
mechanism  was  there  shown.  The 
first  camera  ever  made  in  the  United 
States — a  plain,  clumsy,  wooden  box 
bearing  the  date  1839 — stood  along- 
side two  portable  tripod  cameras  of 
1890,  and  looked  much  more  awk- 
ward. In  the  corner  was  the  contract 
of  partnership  between  Niepce  and 
Daguerre. 

On  the  upper  shelf  in  the  same  case 
a  brass  cylinder  fully  two  feet  in 
height  stood  alongside  a  little  scrap  of 
mechanism  that  could  be  put  in  a 
little  boy's  vest  and  unwieldy  by  con- 
trast. Just  below  the  camera  was  the 
gem  of  the  collection — an  original 
daguerreotype  of  Daguerre.  It  is  in 
first-class  condition  and  is  a  better 
picture  than  many  so-called  photog- 
raphers can  produce  even  now.  The 
big  cylinder,  which  is  six  inches  in 


NEWSPAPER    COMMENTS. 


519 


diameter,  is  a  "rapid"  lens,  made  in 
1846  ;  the  other  is  also  a  rapid  lens, 
but  it  was  made  this  year  and  is  only 
an  inch  long  and  an  inch  in  diameter. 
Both  lenses  are  for  the  same  size  plate, 
viz.,  10  by  12  inches. 

A  hand  camera  of  1884,  for  a  5  by  7- 
inch  plate,  was  big  as  a  full  grown 
valise.  Near  the  specimen  in  the 
case  is  a  hand  camera  of  1890,  and  it 
is  comparatively  a  baby  in  point  of 
size. 

The  instantaneous  "Shutter"  that 
was  regarded  as  perfect  in  1858,  is 
nothing  but  a  brass  slide  with  two 
holes  in  it  for  exposures.  It  is  a  crude 
looking  affair  when  compared  with  the 
beautiful  piece  of  mechanism  along- 
side it— the  instantaneous  shutter  of 
to-day,  in  which  the  movement  of  the 
iris  of  the  eye  is  precisely  imitated  and 
by  which  as  short  an  exposure  as  the 
I5oth  part  of  a  second  is  possible. 

The  development  of  the  signal  ser- 
vice weather  maps  was  made  plain  on 
a  large  board,  but  there  is  no  evidence 
to  show  that  the  weather  has  im- 
proved with  the  maps.  A  row  of 
mutilated  poker  chips  was  immedi- 
ately beneath  the  specimens  of  ancient 
and  modern  meteorological  prophecy. 

Side  by  side  were  the  original  Joseph 
Francis  life-car  and  an  improved  ver- 
sion of  the  same  great  invention. 

The  Ben  Franklin  hand-press  was 
under  glass  in  the  center  of  the  room, 
and  so  is  a  collection  of  time  indi- 
cators —  sun-dials,  clepsydra,  hour- 
glasses and  watches.  With  these  latter 
is  a  chrouoscope,  an  instrument  that 
can  cut  a  second  into  500  parts. 

The  Steinert  collection  of  musical 
instruments  was  another  center  of 
attraction,  from  the  earliest  key  in- 
strument— the  clavichord  of  Mozart 
and  Beethoven's  time — through  the 
intermediary  harpsichords  and  pianos 
down  to  the  modern  upright. 

A  collection  of  typewriters  assem- 
bled— not  female  operators,  but  the 
writing  machine.  Some  of  them  were 
very  clumsy  and  have  an  extremely 
antique  appearance,  although  none  of 
them  are  very  old. 

Guns,  revolvers  and  knives  were 
there  in  choice  variety.  The  history 
of  electric  lighting  was  made  plain, 
and  a  good  many  other  lines  of  en- 
deavor are  clearly  traced.  The  collec- 


tion was  one  of  the  most  valuable  and 
interesting  ever  gotten  up  by  the  mu- 
seum authorities.  New  features  were 
hourly  being  added,  Chief  Clerk  Cox 
and  Prof.  Otis  T.  Mason  being  busily 
engaged  in  the  work  of  direction. 

The  collection  prepared  and  ar- 
ranged by  Professor  Wilson,  curator 
of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  of  an- 
cient devices  of  various  kinds  was  ex- 
tremely interesting. 


[From  the  OFFICIAL  PROGRAMME,  published 
during  the  celebration  by  Mr.  Edward  H. 
Allen  of  Washington.] 

In  1790  only  three  patents  were 
issued  by  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment. During  1 8902  7, ooo  were  issued. 
The  conditions  of  life  in  1890  are  no 
more  like  those  of  1790  than  the  hand 
loom  is  like  the  great  cotton  factory. 
What  the  world  owes  to  the  inventor 
can  not  be  estimated.  The  credit  of 
much  that  the  world  possesses  of  liter- 
ature, science  and  art  is  due  to  him. 
To  his  credit  also  stands  the  greater 
part  of  what  has  been  achieved  in 
agriculture,  mining  and  commerce. 
To  him  the  world  owes  the  difference 
between  what  it  is  and  what  it  would 
have  been  if  invention  had  not  supple- 
mented the  work  of  nature.  It  was 
only  fifty  years  ago  that  many  of  the 
people  in  this  country  were  clothed 
from  the  products  of  the  domestic 
spinning  wheel  and  hand  loom.  The 
itinerant  shoemaker  went  from  house 
to  house,  setting  up  his  bench  and 
plying  his  vocation  in  the  farmer's 
kitchen.  There  were  no  planing  mills, 
no  shops  for  the  manufacture  of  doors, 
sash  and  blinds.  All  the  work  of  the 
builder,  including  the  carpenter's  and 
joiner's  work,  was  done  by  hand.  The 
railroad  and  telegraph  had  not  added 
their  powers  to  the  forces  of  civiliza- 
tion. Books  were  scarce,  newspapers 
few  and  of  little  value,  and  the  home 
was  destitute  of  a  thousand  things  that 
now  seem  indispensable  to  a  comfort- 
able existence.  In  fifty  years  the 
inventive  genius  of  our  land  has  made 
a  change  in  all  this,  more  wonderful 
than  some  of  the  stories  which  are 
told  in  the  Arabian  Nights.  The  best 
friend  of  labor  is  the  inventor.  He  has 
given  to  the  hands  of  the  toiling 
millions  thousands  of  avenues  to  com- 


520 


NEWSPAPER  COMMENTS. 


fort,  luxury  and  wealth.  He  has 
opened  a  continent  for  the  laborer  to 
enter  and  occupy.  He  is  still  taxing 
his  mind  and  body  to  devise  new  ways 
of  benefiting  universal  humanity. 
There  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
well-to-do  families  in  the  United 
States  to-day  who  owe  their  good 
fortune  to  invention,  and  there  are 
none  under  our  flag  who  have  been 
compelled  to  sacrifice  anything  for 
invention  unless  the  good  of  the  com- 
munity in  general  demanded  such  a 
sacrifice.  These  are  all  under  pro- 
found obligations  to  the  inventor.  *  * 
With  this  able  and  enthusiastic 
organization  the  Executive  Committee 
entered  upon  its  work.  Earnest  ap- 
proval and  support  was  met  with  on 
every  hand.  The  newspapers  of  the 


country  and  technical  journals  gave 
the  undertaking  their  indorsement 
from  the  beginning,  and  by  intelligent 
discussion  of  the  subject  rendered  in- 
valuable aid  in  its  advancement. 

Since  the  adoption  of  the  Federal 
Constitution  and  the  organization  of 
the  new  system  of  Government  therein 
provided  for,  no  event  in  time  of  peace 
has  occurred  in  the  history  of  the  Re- 
public of  greater  importance  than  the 
establishment  of  the  Patent  Office  one 
hundred  years  ago.  The  most  import- 
ant of  the  many  good  resul  ts  to  be 
brought  about  by  the  celebration  will 
be  the  quickening  of  thought  that 
must  be  produced  by  contact  of  bright 
minds  engaged  in  a  common  effort  to 
make  new  discoveries. 


INDEX 


INDEX. 


Acropolis  at  Athens 456 

Adamant  plastering 220 

Addresses    at    Board    of     Trade 

banquet 423 

Advisory  Committee,  members  of.,     n 

Africa,  railroad  statistics  of 170 

Agricultural     Bureau     in    Patent 

Office  Building 47° 

Agricultural     implements,    labor 

saved  in  making 83 

Agricultural  implements,  statistics 

of  manufacture  of. 135 

Agricultural    implements,    Wash- 
ington's interest  in 317 

Agriculture,  American  patents  in..    41 

Ainger,  D.  B 41 

Air  brake  and  automatic  couplers..  480 

Air  ships,  experiments  with 172 

Alabama,  coal  product  of. 141 

Albert,  Duke  of  Mecklenburg 474 

Albright  &  Barker 487 

Alexander,  needle  telegraph 180 

Alexander,  T.  H 16 

Alger,  Gen.  Russell  A 22 

Allen,  Ethan 41 

Allen,  Frank  H 26 

Allen,  George 496 

Allen,  Horatio,  experiments  with 

locomotive 132 

Allen,  John  F 494 

Allen,  Walter 19,  489 

Allibone,  Lieut.  Charles  C 17 

Allison,  O.  W 494 

Almond,  Thomas  R 494 

Alsen,  Finius 496 

Alston,  W.  H 492 

Amendments  to  specifications 116 

American    Bell    Telephone  Com- 
pany   488 


PAGE 

American  Historical  Association ...     22 
American  Patent  System,  and  the 
Supreme   Court  of  the  United 

States 425 

American  patent  system,  birth  and 

growth  of. 24,  43 

American    patent  system,  future 

of 40,  426 

American    patents  at  Columbian 

Exposition 41 

American  patents  from  a  financial 

standpoint 40,  432 

American  patents  in  the  Army..4o,  434 

Navy 40 

American  Society  of  Civil  Engi- 
neers  22,  42 

American  Telegraph  Company 190 

Amontons,  M.,  telegraph  176 

Ampere 303 

conducting  helix 289 

multiple- wire  telegraph 1 80 

Anderson,  A.  D 12 

Anderson,  H.  D 40 

Anderson,  E.  W 20 

Anderson,  J.  C 492 

Andrews,  Albert  F 488 

Aniline  dyes  discovered  by  Perkin  306 

Anniversary  day,  exercises  on 30 

Anthemius,  architect  of  Justinian..  263 

Anthony,  Prof.  W.  A 22,  38,  488 

Arago,  steel  magnetized  by 288 

Archaeologist,  historical  divisions 

by 78 

Archaeology 406 

Architecture 406 

Arkansas,  coal  product  of. 141 

Arkwright,  Sir  Richard 388 

spinning  machine 80,  113 

water  frame 137 


524 


INDEX. 


Armament,  improved 440 

American  Association  of  Inventors 

and  Manufacturers 452 

American  patents  at  World's  Ex- 
position   444 

American  patents  in  the  Navy 439 

in  the  Postal  Service 441 

Arbitration,  benefits  of. 448 

Armor,  improvements  in  naval 435 

Army,  American  patents  in  the.. 40,  434 
Army     transportation,    improve- 
ments in 438 

Arnoux,  Hon.  W.  H 41 

Artillery,  improvements  in 294 

Arts  in  England,  low  state  of. 112 

Arquebuss 294 

Ash,  Michael  W 460,  465 

Ashley,  James  A 15,  489 

Askew,  John 338 

Astronomy,  Chinese  knowledge  of  429 

Astronomy,  utility  of. 310 

Atkinson,  Dr.  Edward 28 

on  invention  in  its  effects 
upon  household  economy  217 

on  iron  industry 139 

Atkinson,  W.  R.  B 19 

Atwater,  Prof.  W.  0 226,  229 

Aughinbaugh,  W.  E 19,  41,  487,  489 

Austin,  O.  P 18 

Australia,  railroad  statistics  of. 168 

Austria,  marine  statistics  of 1 63 

Autographic  telegraph 193 

Automatic  French  Spring   Com- 
pany   496 

Automatic  Machine  Company 489 

Avery,  plow  sulky 130 

A  very ,  Robert  Stan  ton 489 

Ayres,  Edward  F 488 

Babendlier,  A.  1 496 

Babson,  John  W 3,  5,  13,  25,  27,  41, 

487,  489 

Bacon,  Lord,  on  inventions 479 

Bacon,  L.  S 19 

Badges  worn  by  committees 36 

Baer,  Von,  teachings  of. 404 

Bagger,  Louis 20 


Bagley,  W.  H 41 

Bailey,  Martin  B 16,  489 

Bain,  chemical  telegraph 191 

Baird,  John 494 

Baker,  Henry  E 489 

Baker,  John  A 16 

Baldwin,  Davidson  &  Wight.  ..487,  489 

Ball,  Charles  B 42 

Balloons,  army  use  of. 438 

Bancroft,  Hon.  George 378 

Banquet  of  American  Society  of 

Civil  Engineers 42 

Banquet  of  Washington  Board  of 

Trade 39,  423 

Barber,  A.  L 12,  487,  494 

Barbour,  James  F 16,  489 

Barker,  W.  W 26 

Barlow,  W.  H 497 

Barnaby,  Charles  W 495 

Barnes,  Lucien 494 

Baron,  Bernhard 493 

Barry,  John,  first  copyright 154 

Barry,  William 494 

Barthelemy,  Abbe,  magnetic  needle  177 

Bartlett,  Mrs.  George 26 

Bartlett,  John  H 41,  497 

Bartlett,  John  P.. 488 

Bartlett,  W.  A 18,  489 

Bassett,  Colonel 343 

Bates,  H.  H 26,  414 

Battering  rams,  description  of 265 

Battin,  Lambert  B 494 

Battle  ships  of  United  States  Navy  439 

Beach,  F.  G 492 

Beach,  James  E 488 

Beach,  John  K 488 

Beaupre,  B 493 

Beckham,  J.  G 41 

Beck,  William  H 20 

Becker,  E.  B 488 

Becker,  Joseph 489 

Beekman,  Gerard 494 

Belgium,  Hauseatic  League  in 474 

Bell,  harmonic  telegraph 1 93 

Bell,  Prof.  Alexander  Graham... n,  21, 

22,  26,  32,  41,  411,  487,  489 

the  telephone.. 28, 125, 136, 197,  424 


INDEX. 


525 


Bell,  C.  J 487,489 

Bell,  J.  Lowrie 16 

Bell-punch  and  trip-slips 481 

Benners,  Edwin  H 494 

Berdan,  General 21,  26 

Berdan,  H 489 

Berg,  WalterS 496 

Berkley,  John,  smelting  works 133 

Berliner,   Emilie,    telephone    and 

phonograph 21,  489 

Berliner,  Emilie,  the  telephone.. 28,  198 

Berry,  Thomas 469 

Bessemer,  Henry,  steel  making 136 

Betan court,    system   of  telegraph 

in  1787 178 

Bethlehem  Iron  Company 488,  496 

Betts,  Frederic  H 494 

Bevan,  Phillips,  quoted 107 

Beveridge,  M.  W 16 

Bicycle  locomotive 172 

Biles,  J.  H.,  on  American  battle 

ships 440 

Billings,  C.  E 488 

Billings,  Dr.  John  S 12,  32,  41,  489 

on  American  inventions  and 
discoveries  in  medicine, 
surgery  and  practical  sani- 
tation   413 

Biology,  discoveries  in 419 

Birkinbine,  John 22 

Birnie,  Capt.  Rogers 29,  489 

Birth  and  growth  of  American  pat- 
ent system 43 

Birth  of  invention,  Prof.  Mason  on..  403 

Biscoe,  H.  L 20 

Bishop,  Charles  R 17 

Bishop,  Mrs.  T.  S 26,  488 

Bismarck,  Count,  opposes  patent 

laws 54 

Bissing,  Gustav 20,  487,489 

Bi-sulphide  of  carbon  engine 247 

Blackford,  B.  Lewis 16 

Blake,  telephone 198 

Bland,  Richard  371 

Bland,     Theodoric,     letter     from 

Washington  to 362 

Blanken,  C.  H 496 


Blatchford,  Hon.  Samuel 24,  489 

on  patent  law in 

Bleakley,  William  M 494 

Bliss,  Henry  H 15 

Blodgett,  G.  R 493 

Blodgett,  Samuel 453 

Blodgett,  W.  H 487,  489 

Blunt,  John  E 492 

Board  of  Trade  of  Washington, 

banquet  by 423 

Boies,  H.  M 496 

Bojanowski,     President    German 

Patent  Office 33 

Bolton,  Channing  M 42 

Bomford,  Colonel 467 

Boneville,  John  S 497 

Bonsack,  cigarette  machine 130 

Bonwill,  W.  G.  A 496 

Boot  and  shoe  manufacture,  labor 

saving  in 83 

Booth,  Edw.  H 489 

Bosscha,  quadruplex  telegraph 192 

Boteler,  John  W 20 

Boulter,  William  E 17 

Boulton,  Matthew 254 

steam  engines 115,  240 

Boulton  &  Watt,  steam  engines...  279 
Boursel,    Charles,     electric    tele- 
phone   196 

Bowen,  Charles  H 489 

Bowen,  J.  E.  M 494 

Bowles,  John 489 

Boyd,  George  W 17 

Boyd,  JohnT 496 

Boyd,  Robert 16 

Boyden,  G.  A 493 

Boynton,  Gen.  H.  V 12,  18 

Bozolus,  Joseph,  system  of   tele- 
graph in  1767 , 178 

Brackett,  Fred 16 

Brackett,  Prof.  Cyrus  F 29 

on  the  effect  of  invention 
upon  the  progress  of  elec- 
trical science 287 

Brackett,  Prof.  Cyrus  W 41 

Braddock  Expedition 326 

Bradford,  Chester 492 


526 


INDEX. 


Bradley,  Charles  S 488,  492 

Bradley,  Justice 22 

Brady,  Edward  W 18 

Brady,  James 494 

Bramwell,  G.  W 494 

Brandon,  James 494 

Brashears,  Shipley 19 

Bray,  Millin 493 

Breech-loader  rifle,  Springfield 438 

Breech-loaders,  adoption  of 299 

Breech-loading  rifle 295 

Brent,  Richard  A 488 

Brequet,  telegraphic  apparatus 188 

Bretan,  Madam  de 376 

Brick-making      machines,     labor 

saved  by 83 

Bridge  building,  effect  of  railroad 

on 167 

Brienne,  Marchioness  de 376 

Brill,JohnA 497 

Britton,  Col.  A.  T 10,  n,  14,  489 

Britton  &  Gray 487 

Brock,  Charles  E 489 

Bronze  age 78,  139 

Brooks,  Byron  A 494 

Brooks,  J.  A 494 

Broom  industry,  labor-saving  ma- 
chines in 84 

Brosius,  S.  G 493 

Brotherhood,  F 496 

Brown,  Austin  P 489 

Brown,  C.  F 493 

Brown,  Chichester 494 

Brown,  Capt.  Giles 320 

Brown,  inventions  of. 459 

Brown,  O.  B 26 

Brown,  Sevellon  A 26 

Browne,  A.  B 20,  489 

Browne,  A.  S 18 

Browne,  F.  L 18,  489 

Browne,  Hugh  M 489 

Bruce,  Hon.  B.  K 22 

Brunning,  Charles  B 492 

Brush,  Charles  F 22,  38 

electric  light 125 

Bryan,  S.  M 17 

Buchanan,  Hon.  James n 


Buckelew,  J.  R 489 

Bunsen 404 

Burden,  James  A 494 

Bureau  Fe"de"ralde  la  Proprie"te  In- 

tellectuelle 34 

Bureau  of  Ethnology 406 

Burgdorff,  Theo.  F 494 

Burke,    Edward,    of  South   Caro- 
lina   48,  134 

Burke,  William 26,  487 

Burke,  W.  M 489 

Burket,  J.  IL,  &  Co 487,  489 

Burnham,  George 496 

Burton,  George  D 493 

Bushnell,  David,  devised  the  tor- 
pedo   441 

Bussey,  Gen.  Cyrus 20,  21,  41 

Butler,  J.  Lawrence 494 

Butler,  William  H 494 

Butterfield,  Col.  F.  G 16,  497 

Butterfield,  General 26 

Butterick,  Ebenezer 494 

Butterworth,  Hon.  Benjamin.... n,  27, 
30,  38,  40,  41 
on    American     patents     at 

World's  Exposition 41,  444 

on  the  effect  of  our  patent 
system  on  the  material  de- 
velopment of  the  United 

States 381 

Butterworth,  B.  F 487 

Butterworth,  W 489 

Byington,  George  R 19 

Byrn,  E.  W 489 

Byrne,  Mrs 26 

Byrnes,  E.  A  489 

Cabell,  W.  D 16,  26,489 

Cable,  submarine  telegraph 195 

Cadwalader,  Mr.,  of  New  Jersey...  134 
Cadwallader,    Lambert,   on   com- 
mittee in  First  Congress  to  con- 
sider patents 48 

Calahan,  printing  telegraph 191 

Calley,  steam  engine 270 

Calver,  Henry 15,  487,  489 

Calver,  William 489 


INDEX. 


527 


Calvert,  inventions  of 459 

Cameron,  Frederick  W 494 

Campbell,  cotton  picker 130 

Campbell,  W.  P 17 

Canada,  Commissioner  of  Patents 

for 450 

Canada,  international  patent  pro- 
tection with 213 

Canada,  railroad  statistics  of. 168 

Canadian  Patent  Office 451 

Canadian  patent  system 31 

Canal  proposed  by  General  Wash- 
ton 131 

Cancellation  machines,  mail 443 

Canda,"F.  E 494 

Cannon,  Hotchkiss  revolving 436 

improvements  in  four  cen- 
turies   293 

introduced  into   China    by 

Jesuits 429 

rifled 295 

Capital,  definition  of. 394 

Caracristi,  C.  F.  Z 41 

Car  coupler,  Janney 130 

Carkhuff,  R 496 

Carlisle,  water  decomposed  by  gal- 
vanic current 179 

Carlisle,  water  decomposed  by  Vol- 
taic battery 287 

Carll,  David  S 42 

Carpenter,  D.  H 488 

Carpet  manufacture,  labor  saved 

in 85 

Carrington,  James  H 494 

Carson,  John  M 18 

Carter,  Landon,  letter  from  Wash- 
ington to 373 

Cartridge  manufacturing  machin- 
ery   438 

Cartridges,  proper  construction  of..  300 
Cartwright,   Dr.   Edward,    power- 
loom 81,  137 

Carty,  Jerome 496 

Cary,  Robert  &  Co.,  letter  from 

George  Washington  to  334 

Casey,  General  Thomas  L 22 

Cash  registers 482 


Casilear,  George  W 16 

Cass,  Governor 467 

Cassard,  Harry  L 493 

Catlin,  B.  R 17,  487,  489 

Cavallo,    system  of  telegraph   in 

1795 178 

Cayenne  pepper  and  lobelia  sys- 
tem    413 

Cellini,  Benvenuto 430 

Centenary  of  Washington  City 424 

Central  America,  railroad   statis- 
tics of 168 

Century  of  patent  law HI 

Ceramic  art,  women  first  invent- 
ors in 409 

Chamber's  patent  for  breech  mech- 
anism    436 

Chandler,  F.  E.,  &  Co 489 

Chanute,  Prof.  Octave 22,  27,  42 

on  effect  of  invention  upon 
the  railroad  and  other 
means  of  intercommuni- 
cation    161 

Chappe,  M.,  semaphore  telegraph.  176 

Chappell,  Mr.  Thomas  S 26 

Chase,  C.  C 41 

Chase,  Champion  S. 494 

Chastellux,   Marquis  de 349 

Chatard,  Thomas  M 489 

Chattanooga,  growth  of. 140 

Chemical  analysis,  methods  of. 244 

Chemin  de  Fer  Glissant  at  Paris 

Exposition 172 

Chemistry  and  physics 303 

Chemistry,  discoveries  in 419 

Chermont,  A.  Iy 497 

Chesapeake  &  Potomac  Telephone 

Company 487 

Chester,  telegraphic  apparatus 188 

Chicago  for   Columbian    Exposi- 
tion    445 

Childs,  George  W 22 

Chinese,  imitative  power  of. 429 

inventors  of  gunpowder 429 

Choate,  Columbus  D 489 

Chogwill,  F.  M 489 

Christensen,  John 494 


528 


INDEX. 


Christianity  improved  by  inven- 
tion      69 

Christianity  in   industrious  com- 
munities      96 

Church,  Fred  F 494 

Church,  Melvin  B 493 

Church,  W.  C 163 

Church  &  Church 487,  489 

Cigarette  machine,  Bonsack's    ....   130 

Circular  No.  i,  text  of. 4 

Circular  of  executive  committee ...       7 
Claims  for  patent,  manner  of  stat- 
ing      51 

Clark,  A.  Howard 16,  26 

Clark  &  Raymond 493 

Clarke,  Prof.  F.  W 29,  41 

on  chemistry  and  physics...  303 

Classification  of  patents 53 

Clawson,  L,.  P 495 

Clay,  Gen.  Cecil 20 

Clermont,  steamboat,  first  trip  of..  124 

Clocks  and  watches,  improved 482 

Clothing  manufacture,  labor  saved 

in 85 

Clotworthy,  W.  P 493 

Coal,  abundant  in  South 139 

anthracite,  household  use  of  226 
Coal  industry,  statistics  of  South- 
ern   140 

Coalmines,  output  of 61 

Coal  tar,  uses  of. 304 

Cochran,  F.  B 494 

Cochran,  George  W 16 

Coffee's  tobacco  stemmer 130 

Cogswell,  W.  B 494 

Cohen,  Mendes 41,  42 

Coinage,  congress  on 448 

Coin-actuated  machines 48 1 

Colburn,  Zerah 166 

Cole,  F.  L 489 

Collins,  W.  H 16 

Columbian     Exposition,     Ameri- 
can patents  at 41,  445 

Columbian    Exposition,    finances 

of 445 

Comments  of  the  press 499 

Commerce,  as  an  invention 406 


Committee,  advisory,  members  of    n 

central,  members  of. 3 

executive,  members  of. 12 

finance , 14 

on  badges  and  medals 17 

on  banquet 20 

on  carriages 19 

on  halls 17 

on  literature 14 

on  music 19 

on  parade  and  military  or- 
ganization      19 

on  press 18 

on  public  comfort 15 

on  transportation 17 

on  reception 16 

on  reception  of  foreign  offi- 
cials       20 

Committees,  list  of. 36 

Composition  powder 414 

Compressed  air  for  propelling  pro- 
jectiles   437 

Comte,  inventor 404 

Congress,  first  grants  letters  pat- 
ent      48 

Congress,  power  of,  as  to  patents..  425 

World's,  at  Chicago 447 

Congressional  library,    copyright 

books  in 153 

Connecticut,  early  copyright  laws 

in 154 

Connecticut,  early  patents  in 45 

Connolly,  A.  A 20 

Constitutional  convention 313 

Constitutional  liberty  established.     60 
Constitutional    privileges    to    in- 
ventors   , 47 

Contract  office,  postal  service 442 

Conway,  Rev.  Moncure  D 322 

Conwell,  John  P 488 

Cook,  George  W 489 

Cooke,  electric  telegraph..  183,  187,  188 
electro  -  magnetic      escape- 
ment    191 

Cooking,  improved  methods  of....  227 

rules  for 226 

Cooley,  W.  B 16 


INDEX. 


529 


Cooper,  George 497 

Cooper,  Peter,  railroad  locomotive  131 

Copp,  H.  N 487 

Copyright,    constitutional  provi- 
sion for 316 

Copyright,  duration  of. 146,  148 

international 149,  159 

in  United  States  in  1787 47 

laws,  early,  in  colonies 154 

provided  for  by  constitution  146 

reasons  for  granting 383 

statistics,  1870-1890 156 

system  of  United  States 27 

system,  origin  and  growth 

of 145 

Corbin,  Mrs.  Lattice  336 

Corey,  Rev.  Dr.  George  H 26 

Corliss,     George     H.,     improved 

steam  engine 270,  280 

Corliss,  Wm 496 

Corson  &  McCartney 487 

Cory,  A.  M 494 

Cory  ton,  on  early  patent  law 44 

Coston,  Mrs 26 

Cotton,  exports  of,  in  1890 138 

first  cultivated  in  America 

in  1621 133 

increase  in  consumption  of.     89 

Cotton  gin 384.  408,  479 

invention  of. 122 

one  of  the  seven  wonders...     71 

origin  of 137 

Whitney's 136 

Cotton  industry,  development  of..  137 

increase  of  wages  in 101 

Cotton  mills,  first  in  America  in 

1787 137 

Cotton  oil  industry,  development 

of 139 

Cotton  picker,  Campbell's 130 

Cotton  tie,  McComb 130 

Cottrell,  C.  B 496 

Couillaird,  inventions  of 459 

Courtois,  discovered  iodine 304 

Cowles,  R.  P 488 

Co wper,  autographic  telegraph  193,  194 
Cox,  EckleyB 496 


Cox,  W.  V 16,  489 

Coxe,  electrolysis  telegraph 179 

Craik,  Nancy 376 

Crane,  Walter  E 488 

Cranford,  H.  L 16,  489 

Crawford,  Valentine 343 

Creative  faculty,  development  of.     64 

Creigh,  Alfred  E 497 

Critic  Record,  The 489 

Crompton,  Samuel,  mule-spinning 

machine 81 

Compton,  Samuel,  spinning  mule  137 

Crook,  Abel 494 

Crosby,  G.  S 494 

Crounse,  W.  L 18 

Crowell,  Luther  C 494 

Culpeper,  Thomas  (Lord) 320 

Cuntz,  Johannes  H 494 

Currency,  present  condition  of....     61 

Curry,  Hon.  J.  L.  M 40,  41 

Curtet,  electric  light 287 

Curtis,  W.  B 18 

Custis,  G.  W.  Park 342 

Cycles,  various  forms  of. 482 

Dagworthy,  Captain 326 

Dahlgreen 441 

Danforth,  inventions  of 459 

Daniel,  Senator  J.  W 21,  25,  26 

on  the  New  South 129 

Daniel's     machine    for    shearing 

cloth 459 

Darwin 404 

Davids,  Charles  H 494 

Davis,  E.  G 16 

Davis,  Lewis  J 16,  489 

Davis,  M.  F 492 

Davy,  Edward,  chemical  telegraph  191 

electric  arc 287 

Davy's  safety  lamp 136 

Dawson,  E.  M 16,  41 

Deane,  Llewellyn 14,  487,  489 

Deen,  Miss  Sarah  C 26 

De  Grain,  R.  F 489 

DeGraw,  P.  V 18 

Delano,  Thomas  H 494 

Delany,  multiplex  telegraph 193 


530 


INDEX. 


Denmark,  Hanseatic  League  iu —  474 

marine  statistics  of. 163 

Densmore,  Edson  S 19 

Department  of  State,  Patent  Office 

under 453 

De  Schweinitz,  E.  A 489 

Devine  &  Keenan 487 

Dewey,  Frederic  P 489 

Dewey's     machine     for   shearing 

cloth 459 

Dick,  E.  A 16 

Dickerson,  Governor 467 

Diehl,  Philip 494 

Dietrick,  F.  G 489 

Digges,  cotton  oil  press 139 

Dinwiddie,  Governor 324 

Displacement  of  labor  by  inven- 
tions      82 

Ditto,  Nelson  J 15 

Dodds,  E 492 

Dodge,  Philip  T 16,  487,  489 

Dodge,  W.  C 15,  489 

on   the   origin,  nature   and 

effect  of  patents 473 

Dodge,  W.  C.,  &  Sons 487 

Dodge,  W.  H 492 

Dodge,  W.  W 489 

Dolbear,  telephone 198 

Dolbear,  A.  E 493 

Doolittle,  W.  H 14,  487,  489 

Doubleday,  H.  H 17,  487,  489 

Douglas,  Henry  T 42 

Douglass,  Hon.  J.  W 12,  40 

Douglass,  J.  Walter , 496 

Dow,  George  E 488 

Dowling,  Thomas,  Jr 489 

Downham,  E.  E 41 

Drainage,  improved  methods  of...  221 

Drama,  origin  of 406 

Drugs    and   chemicals,    manufac- 
turers of 415 

Du  Bois,  James  T 3,  15,  41,  489 

Du  Bois,  R.  G 16,  20,  489 

Dubois  &  Dubois 487 

Due,  Henry  A.,  Jr 496 

Dudley,  Charles  B 496 

Dudley,  Charles  J 488 


Dudley,  Lord  Edward,  iron  works 

°f 133 

Dudley,  William 320 

Dudley,  Hon.  W.  W 15,  487 

Duffy,  O.  E 19,  42,  487,  489 

Duhamel,  James  F 15 

Duncanson,  C.  C 17 

Dunnell,  E.  G 18 

Durgin,  Henry  J 494 

Duryee,  Schuyler 18,  41,  487,  497 

Dutton,  Major  Clarence  E 29,  41 

on  influence  of  invention  on 

modern  warfare 293 

Dwelling  house,  construction  of...  219 

Dyer,  Frank  L, 19,  489 

Dynamite  gun,  Zalinski 299 

Dynamite  torpedo  gun 437 

Dynamometers 482 

Dyre,  Will  E 19 

Dyrenforth,  R.  G 16,  487 

Eagle  Pencil  Company 494 

Earl,  Mr 465 

Early,  Charles 16 

Easte,  Charles  H 493 

Ecaubert,  F 494 

Economic  influence  of  inventions..    93 

Edgeworth,  R.  L.,  telegraph 176 

semaphore  telegraph 184 

Edison, Thomas  A..22,  136,  411,  423,  494 

copying  telegraph 102 

electric  light 125 

harmonic  telegraph 193 

telephone 198 

Edlund,  duplex  telegraph 192 

Edmonds,  Walter  D 494 

Edson,  John  Joy 20,  487 

Edson,  J.  R 19,  489 

Education,  present  systems  of. 70 

Edward  III  of  England,  statutes 

against  monopolies 476 

Edwards,  John  C 20,  493 

Elder,  J.  T 496 

Electrical  Engineers,  Institute  of..     22 
Electrical  science,  effect  of  inven- 
tion upon  progress  of 287 

Electricity,  animal 303 


INDEX. 


531 


Electricity,  application  of,  one  of 

seven  wonders 71 

Electricity,  static 287 

Electric  light,  introduction  of 125 

Electric  lighting 224 

Electric  locomotive,  about  1844...  131 
Electric  railway,  high  speed  on...  172 

Weeni's  system 172 

Electrolysis,  researches  in 287 

Electrolysis  telegraph,  origin  of...  179 

Electro-magnet 303 

Electro-magnetic    telegraph,    in- 
ventors of. 186 

Electroplating,  a  new  industry 90 

Electro  Technical    Society,    Ger- 
many      33 

Elevator,  Otis 126 

Elliot,  Charles  A 12,  469 

Elliot,  Emily 454 

Elliot,  John  Bowman 454 

Elliot,  Miss  Mary  E 469 

Elliot,  Seth  Alfred 454 

Elliot,  William 453,  459 

biography  of 454 

Elliot,  William  Parker.... 459,  460,  468 
architect  of  Patent  Office...  454 

biography  of 469 

extracts  from  diary  of. 464 

letter  from  Ellsworth  to 463 

letter  from  Ruggles  to 462 

Elliott,  W.  St.  Jean 489 

Ellis,  E.  Everett 16,  489 

Ellsworth,  Henry  L..-52,  462,  467,  468 
first  Commissioner  of  Pat- 
ents      50 

on  needs  of  Patent  Office...  457 

Elting,  Irving 494 

Ely,  G.  S 489 

Ely,  Theo.  N 41,  496 

Emanuel,  Philip  Albert 496 

Emerson,  J.  E 496 

Emerson,  Talcott  &  Co 492 

Emery,  Albert  H 482,488 

Emery,  Matthew  G 12,  26,  487,  489 

Emme,  Michael 492 

Etnmens,  Stephen  H 496 

Empire  City  Electric  Company....  488 


PAGE 
Endicott,  Mordecai  T 42 

Engines,  bisulphide  of  carbon 247 

improved,  for  navy 439 

steam..H3,  114,  251,  275,  281,  480 

Engineers'  banquet 42 

England  at  the  World's  Exposition  448 

England,  early  patent  laws  in 112 

foreign  commerce  of. 474 

Hanseatic  League  in 474 

history  of  monopolies  in 476 

law  of  monopolies  in 201 

letter  of  congratulation  from    34 

marine  statistics  of. 163 

revision  of  patent  laws  in...     55 

patent  system  of. 116,  477 

English  operatives,  improved  con- 
dition of 107 

English  system  of  patents 50 

Ennis,  H.  J 19 

Envelope  machine,  Clarke's 130 

Epoch  -  making      inventions      of 

America 121 

Ericsson . 163 

improved  steamboats 124 

locomotive  novelty 165 

movable  turret 441 

screw  propeller 441 

Eschner,  Louis 496 

Eskimo,  seal-skin  boat  of. 409 

Ethical  influence  of  inventions....     92 

Ethnology 406 

Evans,  inventions  of. 459 

Evans,  A.  H 15,  490 

Evans,  George  W 490 

Evans,  Oliver,  steam  carriage  in 

1787 46 

Evening  Star  Newspaper  Co 487 

Everett,  Dr.  C.  C.,  quoted 95 

Everett,  H.  S 16,  490 

Eversman,  Ernst  A 495 

Ewin,  James  L 15,  487,  490 

on  the  minor  inventions  of 

the  century 481 

Ewing,  Thomas,  Jr 494 

Exchange,  as  an  invention 406 

Executive  committee,  circulars  of..  7,  8 

duties  of....  12 


532 


INDEX. 


Expansion  of  labor  by  invention..     88 

Extension  of  patents 52,  118 

Fairfax,  Bryan 343 

Fairfax,  Lord,  deed  to  Washing- 
ton from 321 

Faraday 303 

induction   of   electric    cur- 
rents  181,  182 

laws  of  electrolysis  of 387 

Fare,  register 481 

Farm  Implement  News 492 

Farmer,  M.  G 492 

duplex  telegraph 192 

multiplex  telegraph 1 93 

Fasoldt,  Ernest  C 494 

Fava,  Naef&Co 487 

Fava,  Francis  R.,  Jr 20,  42,  490 

Fawcette,  N.  S 16 

Fearey,  Frederick  L 494 

Feilbogen,  Moriss 494 

Felben,  Jacob 494 

Fendall,  Reginald 15 

Fenwick,  Benjamin 454 

Fenwick,  E.  T 15 

Fenwick,  Robert  W 3,  41,  487,  490 

on  the  old  and  new  Patent 

office 453 

Feudal  system 78 

Field,  C.  J 494 

Finance  Committee,  members  of. .     14 
Financial  importance  of  American 

patents 432 

Financial    importance    of  patent 

system 423 

Finckel,  W.  H 15,  490 

Fine  arts,  ennobling  influence  of.     66 

Fisher,  Commissioner 480 

Fisher,  Hon.  Robert  J 12,  490 

Fisher,  S.  F 490 

Fisher,  Hon.  Samuel  S 152 

Fisher,  William  Hubbell 495 

Fish  ladders  and  hatcheries,  Mc- 
Donald's   130 

Fitch,  John,  patent  to,  in  1790 49 

steamboat  in  1787 46,   133 

Fitzgerald,  Colonel 376 

Fitzgerald,  W.  F ,  487 


Fitzgerald,  W.  T 16,  490 

Fleetwood,  C.  V 495 

Florida,  inventors  from 130 

Flowers,  M.  F.  W 26 

Flying  machines 172 

Fly-shuttle,  invented  in  1738 79,  80 

Kay's 137 

Folger,  Commodore  William  M...     12 

Folk-lore 406 

Food,  cost  of  daily  ration  of. 227 

nutritive  value  of. 227 

rules  for  cooking 226 

Foote,  Allen  R 490 

Forbes,  Francis 494 

Forney,  E.  0 490 

Fort  Duquesne 329 

Forth  bridge,  dimensions  of 167 

Foster,  Hon.  Charles 41 

on  American  patents  from 
the  financial  standpoint.  40, 432 

Foster,  Charles  E 15 

Foster  &  Freeman 487,  490 

Fouquet,  Leon  C 492 

Fowler,  C.  H 18,  487,  490 

Fowler,  Francis 490 

Fox,  E.  H 26 

Fox,  Oscar  C 487,  490 

Fox,  William  C 18,  26 

Fraley,  Hon.  Frederick 22,  27,  496 

France,  Hanseatic  League  in 474 

law  of  monopolies  in 201 

marine  statistics  of. 163 

patent  medicines  in 417 

Franklin,  Benjamin.. 291,  316,  373,  382, 

385,  430 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  printing  press    53 

Franklin  Institute 23 

Fraser,  Daniel 490 

Fraser,  Donald 154 

Freight  rates  in  England 162 

French  Commissioner  of  Patents, 

greetings  from 35 

French,  Dr.  William  B 16,  490 

Frischen,  duplex  telegraph 192 

Fritz,  Theo.  H 493 

Frothingham,  N.  L 490 

Fruit  wrapper,  Stevens 130 


INDEX. 


533 


Froment,  telegraphic  apparatus...  188 
Frothingham,  Hon.  N.  L....2O,  26,  42, 

487 

Fry,  Col.  Joshua 325 

Fryer,  Robert  M 490 

Fuller,  M.  M 490 

Fuller,  Warren  &  Co 222 

Fulton,  Robert,  developed  the  tor- 
pedo   441 

Fulton,  Robert,  steamboat....  123,  136, 

459 

Fulton,  Robert,  steam  navigation.  441 
Future   of  the  American    Patent 
system 426 

Gale,   Dr.,  work  on  Morse  tele- 
graph  185,  186 

Gale,  Major  T.  M 16,  20 

Galileo,    reference     to    magnetic 

needle 177 

Gallaher,  Dr.  M.  F 26 

Gallaudet,  E.  M 490 

Gait,  M.  W 16,  490 

Galvani,  experiments  of. 179 

on  animal  electricity 303 

Galvanic  telegraph,  origin  of. 179 

Galvanometer,  origin  of. 179 

Galvanoscope,  origin  of 179 

Gammell,  A.  M 496 

Gardner,  Lawrence 20,  41,  487,  490 

Gamier,  copying  telegraph 192 

Garrett,  H 490 

Gatling,  Dr.  R.  J 21,  26,  38,  41,  488 

address  by 452 

Gatling  gun 130,  301,  436 

Gauss,  needle  telegraph 180 

Gaynor,  fire  telegraph 130 

Gedney  &  Roberts 487 

Genius,  power  of 57 

Georges,  J.  J 490 

Georgia,  coal  product  of. 141 

inventors  of. ...  130 

German  Patent  Office,  letter  from..     32 
Germany,  at  World's  Exposition..  448 

coal-tar  industry  of. 306 

Hauseatic  League  of. 473 

marine  statistics  of 163 


Germany,  patent  laws  of. 214 

revision  of  patent  laws  in...     55 
Gibbon's  "  Decline  and  Fall  of  the 

Roman  Empire"  quoted 263 

Gibbs,  sewing-machine 130,  136 

Gibson  Brothers 487 

Gilbert,  Dr 287 

Gilbert,  Prof.  G.  K 28 

Gill,  Charles  C 494 

Gill,  J.  G.,  cartridge-machine.. 300,  438 

Gill,  Theo.  N 490 

Gilman,  Charles  Carroll 492 

Gintl,  telegraphic  apparatus 192 

Glass,  malleable,  invention  of 72 

Glass  industry,  cost  of  production 

in 223 

Glassware,  cost  of  production 389 

Glowes,  cotton-oil  press 139 

Gooch,  C.  J 15 

Goode,  Dr.  G.  Brown..n,  14,  26,  42,  490 
Goodman,    Agdalena    S.,    broom 

brushes 131 

Goodrich,  Harry  C 492 

Goodwin,  John  M 496 

Goodyear,    industries  established 

by 91 

Goodyear,  vulcanized  rubber 430 

Gore,  Prof.  J.  Howard 27 

Gorrnully,  R.Philip 492 

Gorrie,  ice  machine 130 

Gorton,  Robert 494 

Gould,  Aaron  P 495 

Gould,  C.  G 490 

Government  as  an  invention 406 

Gower,  telephone 198 

Granger,  James  B 494 

Grant,  Hon.  Lewis  A 40,  41,  448 

on  American  patents  in  the 

Army 40,  434 

Grants  by  kings  in  early  days 474 

Graphic  art 406 

Graphophone,  importance  of. 481 

Graton,  H.  C 493 

Graves,  D.  H 490 

Gray,  EHsha 492 

harmonic  telegraph 193 

telautograph 193 


534 


INDEX. 


Gray,  EHsha,  telephone 197 

Gray,  Hon.  George n,  42 

Gray,  Stephen,  conveyance  of  elec- 
trical influence  by  wire 177 

Gray,  Prof.  Thomas 41,  492 

on    inventors   of  telegraph 

and  telephone 27,  175 

Greece,  marine  statistics  of 163 

Greeley,  B.  S 494 

Greeley,  B.  S.,  &  Co 488 

Greeley,  Gen.  A.  W 12 

Green,  Bernard  R 42 

Green,  M.  M 496 

Green,  Noble  T 280 

Green,  Norvin 22 

Green,  O.  C 16 

Green,  William 320 

Greene,  Wallace 18,  490 

Gregg,  M.  B 15,  49° 

Gregory,  G.  W 488,  493 

Gridley,  James  H 15,  487,  49° 

Griffin,  Bugene 493 

Griggs,  patents  to 459 

Griscom,  F.  R 493 

Guarantee  fund,  list  of  subscribers 

to 487 

Guilds,  merchant,  origin  of 474 

Gun,  dynamite  torpedo 437 

Gatliug 436 

Gun,  magazine 301 

steel  wire  wound 436 

Guns,  compressed  air 437 

improvements  in  steel 436 

increased  range  of 435 

propulsion  of. 436 

rapid  fire ..., 294 

range-finder  for 436 

screw    breech    mechanism 

for 436 

Gun-barrels,  manufacture  of. 294 

Gun-cotton,  discovery  of 298 

Gunpowder,  Chinese  the  invent- 
ors of. 429 

Gunpowder,  control  of  action  of...  296 

slow-burning 436 

smokeless 436 

Gun  steel,  manufacture  of. 297 


Gurley  &  Stevens 487 

Guthridge,  Jules 18 

Guttenberg,  printing  press 53 

Hagen,  Arthur  T 494 

Hains,  Robert? 490 

Haire,  R.  J 494 

Halford,  B.  W 21,  41 

Hall,  Augustus  R 496 

Hall,  Julien  A 42 

Hall,  William  P 494 

Hallidie,  A.  S 488 

Hallock,  William 495 

Halshe,  copying  telegraph 192 

telegraphic  apparatus 188 

Halsted,  John  J 16,  487,  490 

Hamblet,  telegraphic  apparatus...  188 

Hainbleton,  Francis  H 42 

Hamilton 4°4 

Hamilton,  Dr.  J.  B 26 

Hamlin,  Dr.  Tennis  S 26 

Hampton     Roads,     international 

naval  assembly  in 142 

Hand-production,  age  of. 79 

Handy,  Charles  W 487 

Handy,  F.  A.  G 18 

Hanes,  John 494 

Hannah,  Miss  Ruth 27 

Hanseatic  League,  powers  of. 473 

Harding,  Miss 49° 

Hargreaves,       James,       spinning 

jenny So 

Harlan,  Mr.  Justice 40 

on  Supreme  Court  of  United 
States  as  related  to  Amer- 
ican Patent  System 425 

Harlow,  M.  B 41 

Harmon,  O.  S 495 

Harper,  James  460 

Harris,  John  F 495 

Harris,  Hon.  William  T 32,  41 

on  relation  of  invention  to 
the  newspaper  and  book..  393 

Harriss,  Dr.  G.  W 16 

Harrison,  Governor 345 

Harrison,  President 7,  23,  35 

Harrover,  J.  J 16,  490 


INDEX. 


535 


Hart,  A.  W 490 

Hart,  W.  H 488 

Harvester 480 

one  of  seven  wonders 71 

steam 407 

Hastings,  A.  Horace 495 

Hathaway,  Thomas  H 493 

Hatton,  Frank 18 

Hawaii,  patent  laws  of. 213 

Hay,  Col.  E.  B 20,  26 

Hayden,  John  J 490 

Hays,  H.  V 493 

Hayward,  H.  S 494 

Hazlehurst,  George  B 42 

Heating    and    cooking,    improve- 
ments in 224 

Helm,  M.  D 17,  42,  487,  490 

Helmholtz 404 

Henderson,  W.  G 15,  487,  490 

Hendley,  C.  M 41 

Henry,  Professor  Joseph. 303 

electro-magnetic  telegraph.  190 
experiments  in  electro-mag- 
netism    184 

experiments  with  magnets..  288 
induction   of  electric    cur- 
rents  181,  182 

telegraph 167 

Henry,  Patrick 319,  379 

Herman,  Robert 490 

Hero's  "Pneumatica"  cited 261 

Hertz,  electrical  science 290 

Herzog,  F.  B 495 

Hewitt,  Hon.  Abram  S 22 

Hickman,  Louis  C 496 

Higdon,  John  C 493 

Higginbottom,  Charles  T 488 

Higgins,  Charles  M 495 

Highton,  H.  and  E.,  needle  tele- 
graph   188 

Hill,  B.  B 496 

Hill,  Charles  J 490 

History  of  the  celebration 3 

Hitchcock,  L,.  R 495 

Hobday,  John,  threshing  machine  372 

Hoe,  printing  press 53,  86,  136 

Hoe's  cylinder  press 126 


Hoen,  Ernest 493 

Hoffecker,  W.  L 494 

Hoffman,  W.  J 16 

Hoge,  Thomas 490 

Hoisting  appliances  on  naval  ves- 
sels   440 

Holland,  Hanseatic  League  in 474 

marine  statistics  of. 163 

Hollerith,  Herman 487,  490 

Holley,  Alexander  L, 166 

Holt,  Commissioner 478,  480 

Holton,  Frederick  A 19 

Holtzman,  George  M 27 

Homestead  laws 475 

Hook,  Dr.  Robert,  proposal  for  a 

telegraph 176 

Hook,    mechanical  telephone  in 

1667 196 

Hope,  S.  W 489 

Hopkins,    Samuel,    first    United 

States  patent  granted  to 49 

Hopkins,  Thomas  S 16,  490 

Hotchkiss,  mention  of. 441 

revolving  cannon 436 

Hough,  F.  H 19 

Hough,  Walter 16,  490 

Houghton,  smokeless  powder 436 

Hours  of  labor,  reduction  in 101 

House,  effect  of  invention  upon 

the 217 

House  fittings,  invention  in 221 

House  furnishing,  improvements  in  224 

How,  W.  Storer 496 

Howard,  Clem  W 16 

Howard,  George  H 15,  487,  490 

Howard,  G.  T 16 

Howard,  Henry 496 

Howard,  H.  J.  M 490 

Howard,  James  L 488 

Howard,  R.  J 41 

Howard,  William  H 493 

Howe,  Elias,  sewing  machine..66,  122, 

136 

Howe,  Elmer  P 493 

Howland,  E.  C 18 

Rowland,  J.  G 26 

Howson,  Henry 496 


536 


INDEX. 


Howson  &  Howson 488 

Hoyt,  L.  H 488 

Hubbard,  Hon.  Gardiner  G..2I,  22,  37, 
38,  41,  452,  487,  490 

Hubbel,  William  Wheeler 490 

Hudson,  John  B 493 

Hudson,  T.J 490 

Hughes,  D.  B.,  type-printing  tele- 
graph    190 

Hughes,  telephone 198 

Hulse,  M . ,  j  udge  of  textiles 54 

Humaston,  copying  telegraph 192 

Humboldt,  teachings  of 404 

Hume,  Frank 16,  490 

Hunt,  Conway  B 42 

Hunt,  William  C 27 

Huntington,  Benjamin,  introduced 
bill  in  first  Congress  granting 

letters  patent 47 

Huntingdon,  Mr.,  of  Connecticut.  134 

Hunnings,  telephone 198 

Hyatt,J.  W 497 

Hyde,  John 27 

Hyer,  John  D 490 

Hyslop,  John,  Jr 493 

Ice  machine,  Gorrie 130 

Illinois,  contributions  of,toWorld's 

Bxposition 445 

Indenture  for  service  as  mason 336 

Indian  axe,  method  of  making 235 

Indian    Bureau  in    Patent   Office 

Building 470 

Industrial  art,  development  in 108 

Industrial  arts,  history  of 77 

Industrial  history,  divisions  of.....     78 
Industrial  property,  international 

protection  of. 199 

Ingalls,  Owen  L, 42 

Ingram,  Thomas  D 490 

Institute  of  Blectrical  Bngineers..     22 

Institute  of  Naval  Architects 440 

Instrumental  drawing,  value  of....  244 
Interior  Department  in  the  Patent 

Office  building 470 

International    American    Confer- 
ence   ..  2II 


International  convention  for  pro- 
tection of  industrial  property...  209 

International  copyright 159 

International  patent  rights 214 

International  protection  of  indus- 
trial property 28,  199,  209 

Invention  and  Advancement,  Sen- 
ator Platt  on 24,  57 

Invention  and  modern  welfare 293 

birth  of. 403,  428 

definition  of. 63,  441 

effect  of,  on  the  railroad,  etc.   161 
effect  of,  upon  the  progress 
of  electrical  science 287 

Invention,  expansion  of  labor  by..     88 

former  meaning  of  term 477 

improves  Christianity 69 

in  its  effects  upon  household 
economy 217 

Invention,  labor  benefited  by 73 

motive  of. 72 

object  of 68 

of  the  steam  engine 251 

relation  of,  to  agriculture...     25 

relation  of,  to  labor 24,  77 

relation    of,   to   newspaper 
and  book 393 

Invention,  the  New  South  as  an 
outgrowth  of. 129 

Invention,  the  spirit  of. 59 

Inventions,  benefit  of  new 479 

economic  influence  of. 93 

epoch-making 121 

epoch-making,  of  America..     24 

ethical  influence  of. 92 

financial  importance  0^.423,  432 
in  medicine,  surgery,   and 
sanitation 413 

Inventions  in  Southarn  States 130 

international  protection  of..  200 

minor,  of  the  century 481 

occupations  created  by 90 

property  in 203,  313 

Inventive  age 93 

birth  of. 79 

Inventor,  rights  of 478 

Inventors,  need  of  encouraging....  383 


INDEX. 


537 


Invitation  to  attend  celebration, 

form  of 8 

Iodine  discovered  by  Courtois 304 

Ireland,  Archbishop 41,  448 

Iron,  abundant  in  the  South 139 

Iron  age 78 

Iron,  increased  consumption  of....    89 
Iron  industry  in  Virginia  in  1619..   133 

statistics  of. 140 

Iron  mines,  output  of. 61 

Iron  stoves  and  ranges,  introduc- 
tion of. 225 

Italy,  at  World's  Exposition 448 

Hanseatic  League  in 474 

marine  statistics  of. 163 

Jackson,  President  Andrew. ..  .444,  455, 

461 
Jackson,  Andrew,  Patent  Office 

begun  under 50 

Jackson,  Dr.,  electro-magnetic  tel- 
egraph   186 

Jackson,  Major 319 

Jackson,  William 493 

James  I  of  England,  monopolies 

under 476 

Jamestown,  Va.,  manufacturers  at 

in  1608 132 

Janney,  car  coupler 130 

Jaques,  W.  H 496 

Jay,  Hon.  John 22 

Jayne,J.  W 27 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  author  of  the 

American  patent  system 133 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  signed  first 

American  patent 134 

Jenckes,  Hon.  Thomas  A 152 

Jenks,  Joseph,  improved  scythe  in 

1646 45 

Jennings,  Isaiah,  thimbles  for 

sails 51 

Jesuits  introduced  cannon  into 

China 429 

Johns,  Frank  D 19,  487,  490 

Johnson,  A.  E.  H 19 

Johnson,  Arnold  B 16 

Johnson,  E.  Kurtz 490 


Johnson,  E.  T 495 

Johnson,  Eugene  W 17,  20,  490 

Johnson,  Iver 493 

Johnson,  Dr.  Samuel,  quoted 145 

Johnson,  Lewis  &  Co 487 

Johnson,  T.  J 15 

Johnson,  Walter 20,  487,  490 

Johnson,  W.  J 41 

Johnson  &  Johnson 487,  490 

Johnston,  Miss  E.  B 376 

Johnston,  Reinohl  &  Dyre 487,  490 

Johnston,  T.  J 490 

Johnston,  W.  J 495 

Jones,  Charles  S 19,  490 

Jones,  Dr.,  superintendent  of  Pat- 
ent Office 51 

Jones,  Horace  K 488 

Jones,  John  Paul 16 

Jones,  J.  Thomas 495 

Joule,  inventions  of. 404 

Joyce,  Maurice 490 

Judson,  Andrew  T 460 

Justice,  as  an  invention 406 

Kaufmann,  C.  H 495 

Kauffmann,  S.  H 18,  42,  490 

Kay,  John,  fly  shuttle 79,  80,  137 

Keane,  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 40,  41 

Keasbey,  A.  Q 494 

Keefe,  Francis 492 

Keim,  De  B.  Randolph 18 

Keller,  Charles  M.,    advocate  in 

patent  causes 52 

Kelly,  DJ 490 

Kelly,  William,  steel  making 136 

Kemp,  J.  R 490 

Kenaday,  A.  M 490 

Kendall,  Amos 465 

Kennedy,  W.  P 17 

Kentucky,  coal  product  of. 141 

inventors  from 130 

Kenyon,  Robert  Nelson 495 

Kenyon,  W.  H 495 

Kepler,  gravitation 404 

Kessler,  concealed  arts,  cited 175 

Keyworth,  John 16 

Kilmer  Manufacturing  Company..  495 


538 


INDEX. 


King,  Mrs.  H.  L 26 

King,  Prof.  Harry 16,  41,  490 

King  John  of  Bngland 476 

Kingsley,  John  F 496 

Kinnan,  A.  F 490 

KirchofF,  chemical  identity  of  all 
worlds 404 

Kirby,  Frank  B 493 

Kneass,  Strickland 496 

Knight,  George  H 493 

Knight,  Hervey  S 17 

Knight,  Octavius 16 

Knight,  William  B 490 

Knox,  General,  letter  from  Wash- 
ington to 350 

Knox,  George  W 487 

Koch's  lymph 418 

Konow,  W.,  letter  from 35 

Koskul,  Frederick 496 

Kramer,  telegraphic  apparatus 188 

Krupp  guns 296 

Kuehling,  Mrs 26 

Labels,  copyrighted 156 

Labor,  associated  benefit  of 75 

benefited  by  invention 73 

decreased  cost  of. 223 

displacement  of,  by  inven- 
tions      82 

effect  of  division  of. 99 

power  of  educated 102,  105 

relation  of  invention  to 77 

Labor-saving  inventions 83,  84 

Lacey,  A.  P 487 

Lacey,  B.  S 41 

Lacey,  R.  S 15,  487 

Lack,  H.  Reader,  letter  from 34 

Lake,  Wilmot 490 

Lamarck 404 

Lamasure,  Bdwin 16 

Lamb,  Dr.  D.  S 16,  490 

Lambie,  James  B 487 

Lamborn,  Robert  H 495 

Lancaster,  Annie  S 469 

Land,  C.  H 493 

Land  grants,  early 475 

Land  Office  in  Patent  Office  Build- 
ing  , 470 


Lane,  C.  H 490 

Lane,  F.  N 20 

Lang,  Louis  J 18 

Laugerfeld,  A 495 

Langley,  Prof.  Samuel  P u,  21,  22, 

28,  490 

address  as  presiding  officer..  235 

Lansburg,  Max 493 

Laundry  machine 373 

Lapham,  William 26 

Lapham,  William  R 19,  26,  42,  487 

La  Place,  mathematician 241 

Law,  early   Bnglish,   relating    to 

patents 44 

Law,  granting  patents  in  1790, 1793    49 

patent,  a  century  of in 

relations  of  patents  and  the..  433 
Laws,  patent,  changes  in 52 

patent,  in  Burope 202,  203 

Law's  cotton  planter 130 

Laws,  Mr 191 

Lawrence,  DeWitt  C 16 

Layden,  R.  M 26 

Lear,  Tobias 367 

Lee,  Gov.  Henry 318 

Lee,  Mrs.  Thomas 319 

Lee,  Richard  Henry 371 

Lefavour,  Woodbury  P 493 

Leggett,  M.  D 41 

Leggett,  Wells  W 493 

Legislation  as  an  invention 406 

Lehmann,  F.  A 17,  487,  490 

Leibnitz 404 

Lemon,  Capt.  George  B..I5,  16,  487,  490 

Lenk,  gun-cotton 298 

Le  Sage,  system  of  telegraph  in 

1774 178 

Leslie,  Bdward 494 

Letterboxes,  private 444 

Letters  of  congratulation  from  for- 
eign countries 32 

Lewis,    Betty,    sister    of   George 

Washington 34 1 

Lewis,  Mrs.  D.  W 26 

Lewis,  Fielding 341 

Lewis,John 319 

Lewis,  Wilfred 496 


INDEX. 


539 


PAGE 

Lewis,  William  B 467 

Library    of   Congress,    copyright 

books  in 150 

Liebhardt,  D.  P 16 

Lighting,  improved  methods  of....  222 

Lincoln,  Charles  P 26 

Lincoln,  Levi 460,  464,  465 

Linindoll,  C.  C 495 

Lipps,  Henry,  Jr 495 

Lister,  Charles  C 15 

Littell,  J.  R 18,  487 

Little,  copying  telegraph 192 

Little,  Luther  B 18 

Loan  exhibition  at  National  Mu- 
seum      42 

Lobelia  system 413 

Locke,  Sylvanus  D 495 

Locks,  rotary  registry 442 

Lockwood,  George  M 16 

Lockwood,  Thomas  D 493 

Locomotive,  bicycle 172 

Kricsson's 165 

Stephenson's 164,  166 

Trevithic's 164 

Locomotives,  statistics  of. 169 

Logan,  Walter  S 495 

Lombard,  Nathan  C 493 

Lomond,  system   of  telegraph  in 

1787 " 178 

Longsbieth,  Edward ..  496 

Loom,  power Si,  86,  482 

Cartwright's 137 

Lomis,  Burdett 489 

Lord,  T.  W 487,  490 

Lorimer,  John  H 496 

Loriug,  G.  B 490 

Louisiana,  inventors  from 130 

Low,  H.  N 17 

Lowrey,  Benno 495 

Lowrey,  G.  P 495 

Lowrey,  W 490 

Luce,  Dr 26 

Lumber,  abundant  in  the  South...  139 

Lunar  Society  of  Birmingham 239 

Lusk,  James  L 42 

Lyman,  Charles 490 

Lyman,  Commissioner 26 


rrtuc. 

Lyman,  Mrs 26 

Lynch,  Hon.  John....3,  5,  8,  13,  22,  25, 

27,  3i,  32,  41,  490 

resolutions  on  death  of. 485 

Lynch,  Hon.  W.  J 21,  41 

Lyons,  Jos 490 


McCabe,  J 2I 

McCabe,  Hon.  Thomas 41 

McCammon,  Joseph  K..I5,  42,  487,  491 

McClellan,  Felix  G 495 

McComb,  cotton  tie 130 

McComb,  David  B 42 

McCormick  reaper 66,  126,  130 

McDonald,  James  J 26 

McDonald,  Col.  Marshall...  12,  42,  491 
McDonald,  fish-ladders  and  hatch- 
eries     130 

McElroy,  John 18 

McElroy,  J.  F 495 

McFarland,  W.  D 19 

McGill,  J.  Nota 17 

Mclntire,  C.  H 494 

Mclntire,  W.  C..i6,  20,  26,  41,  487,  491 

McKay,  shoe  machine 84 

McKee,  D.  R 18 

McKibben,  Col.  Joseph  C 17 

McKnight,  Wharton  15 

McLaughlin,  Capt.  P.  H 41 

McLean,  Nichol  &  Dorsey 491 

McMahon,  P.  J 492 

McMichael,  Hon.  William 15,  488 

Macaulay,  quoted 252 

Macbeth,  George  A 496 

Macfarland,  H.  B.  F 41 

Machine  guns,  rapid  fire 294 

Machine  production,  age  of. 79 

Mackey,  Samuel  W 493 

Madison,  James,  copyright  system,  134 

145 

Madison,  on  copyrights  in  1787  ...     47 
Madrid     conference     on     patent 

rights 213 

Magazine  gun 301 

Magna  Charta,  origin  of. 475 

provisions  of. 475 


540 


INDEX. 


Magnetic  needle,  early  knowledge 

of. 177 

Magnus,  King  of  Sweden 474 

Magowen,  Mr 339 

Maher,  Mary  Ann 469 

Mail  locks,  registry 442 

Mail  transportation,  rapid 443 

Main,  patent  case  of. 210 

Mallet,  Bdmond 26 

Malm,  Alexander 495 

Man,  early  history  of 404,  405 

primitive 410 

Manderson,  Senator 26 

Mann,  Charles  B 493 

Mann,  Harry  F 496 

Manufactures,  a  century's  prog- 
ress in 62 

Manufactures,  in  Virginia,    1608- 

1651 133 

Manufactures,  low  state  of  in  Eng- 

land 112 

Marble,  Hon.  E.  M n,  487 

Marble,  Mason  &  Canfield 487 

Marean,  Morrell 17 

Maret,  James 492 

Marindin,  Henry  I/ 42 

Marine  of  principal  nations,  sta- 
tistics of 163 

Marine  telegraphy 195 

Maron,  duplex  telegraph 192 

Marquis,  C.  F 496 

Marquis  of  Worcester,  cited 175 

Marrill,  J.  H 490 

Marsh,  James  A 495 

Marsh,  Riverius 494 

Martin,  James  N 496 

Marvin,  J.  B n,  487,  490 

Maryland,  coal  product  of. 141 

early  patents  in 46 

Masius,  AlfredG 490 

Mason,  George 375 

Mason,  Prof.  Otis  T...3,  32,  38,  41,  490 
on  the  birth  of  invention* ...  403 
Massachusetts,     early     copyright 

laws  in 154 

patent  granted  in  1641  in 45 

Massachusetts  Institute  of  Tech- 
nology    224 


Matthews,  Mr.  Justice,  defines  in- 
vention      63 

Mattingly,  William  F 16 

Mauro,  P 18 

Maury's  map  of  the  sea 130 

Maxim,  Mr.,  experiments  in   air 

transportation 172 

Maxim,  rapid-firing  gun 437 

smokeless  powder 436 

Maxson,  Louis  W 487,491 

Maxwell's  electromagnetic  theory 

of  light 290 

Mayer,  Charles  F 22 

Mayer,  inventions  of 404 

Maynard,  Dr.  Edward 21,  490 

Maynard,  George  C 5,  12,  13,  15,  25, 

26,  41,  487,  490 

Maynard,  George  W 21 

Meade,  Capt.  R.  W 12,  491 

Mechanical      inventions,      inter- 
national protection  of. 200 

Mechanical  telephone 196 

Medart,  Philip 493 

Medical  literature 420 

schools 420 

science,  progress  in 421 

Medicine,    American     inventions 

and  discoveries  in 413 

Medicine,  capital  in  manufacture 

of 415 

Medicine,  patent 414 

Mefford's  dynamite  gun 437 

Meigs,  Gen.  M.  C 12,  491 

Mellen,  E.  D 493 

Mendenhall,  Prof.  T.  C n,  22 

Mercer,  Capt.  George 326,  330 

Meredith,  Col.  William  M 12 

Merrow,  J.  M 489 

Mertz,  Edward  P 491 

Mexico,  railroad  statistics  of. 168 

Meyer,  multiplex  telegraph 193 

Meyer,  on  nervous  excitation 404 

Michenor,  Gen.  I,.  T 20 

Microphone  transmitters 197 

Middleton,  Frank  I, 19 

Midgley,  Thos 496 

Military   hospitals,  improvements 
in 420 


INDEX. 


541 


Military  parade  and  reception 31 

Miller,  Aaron 371 

Miller,  Joseph  R 496 

Miller,  W.  H 497 

Miller,  Hon.  W.  H.  H.,  on  relation 

of  patents  to  the  law.. 40,  433 

Millhauser,  B 496 

Milliken,  J.  A 495 

Mills,  Robert 464,  465,  466,  468 

architect  of  Parent  Office..457,  461 
Mining    industries,  employes    in- 
creased in 90 

Mining  industry,  progress  in 61 

Mining  resources  of  the  South 139 

Minor  inventions  of  the  century...  481 

Missouri,  coal  product  of 141 

Mitchell,  Hon.  Charles  Eliot....  12,  21, 
24,  35,  40,  41,  449,  487 
Mitchell,  Hon.   Charles  Eliot,  on 
birth  and  growth  of  American 

patent  system 43 

Mitchell,  Hon.  C.  E.,  on  the  first 
century  of  the  American  patent 

system 40 

Mitchell,  Robert 26 

Models  destroyed  by  fire  in  1836...  458 

Models  of  inventions 116 

Models  of  patents,  museum  of 423 

Mohun,  Frank 469 

Monitor  and  revolving  turret 480 

Monopolies,    abolishment    of    in 

1623 in 

Monopolies,  early  statute  against.. ..43, 
in,  201,  476 

Monopolies,  history  of. 473 

no  claim  on  the  law 434 

Monopoly,  definition  of. 473 

Monroe,  R.  G 20 

Montgomery,  Hon.  M.  V n,  42 

Moody,  C.  D 493 

Moore,  D.  G 494 

Moore,  M.  J   491 

Moore,  Col.  W.  G 20 

Moore,  W.  N 19 

Mordecai,  improved  powder 436 

Morgan,  T.  J 491 

Morris,  Ballard  N 491 


Morris,  Gouverneur 374 

Morris,  M.  L 20 

Morrison,    Charles,    signaling  by 

electric  wires  in  1753 177 

Morrison,  J.  N 26 

Morrison,  R.  A 491 

Morse  alphabet,  author  of. 189 

Morse,  Jedediah,  American  Geog- 
raphy    154 

Morse,  Samuel  F.   B.,  history  of 

invention  by 119,  188 

Morse,  Professor,  discoveries  of...  183 
electric  telegraph... 21,  124,  136, 

382 

praise  given  to 65 

patent  sustained 119 

Mortar  batteries,  power  of. 438 

Morton,  Prof.  Henry 41 

Moseley,  C.  S 492 

Mosman,  Alonzo  T 42 

Mount    Vernon,  Dr.  Toner's  ad- 
dress at 313 

Mount  Vernon,  estate  at,  divisions 

of 332 

excursion  to 30 

improvements  by  Washing- 
ton to 350 

Ladies'  Association  of. 320 

list  of  trees  at 354 

original  grant  of,  in  1674 320 

purchased  by  Ladies'  Asso- 
ciation   330 

Moustiers,  Count  de 375 

Moxham,  A.J 496 

Muirhead ,  duplex  telegraph 192 

Mule-spinning  machine,  invented 

in  1776 81 

Mullin,  Rafael 491 

Mulvihill,  M.  J 493 

Mumford,  E.  H 494 

Muncke,  Professor 183 

Muuger,  R.  S 488 

Municipal  government,  failure  of.  448 

Munn  &  Co 15,  488 

Munson,  H.  T 495 

Museum  of  working  models  pro- 
posed   423 


542 


INDEX. 


Music,  when  originated 406 

Muskets,  formerly  made  by  hand  294 

Mussey,  R.  D 491 

Muzzle-loading  rifle 295 

Myers,  H.  M , 49^ 

Napping  cloth,  machine  for 459 

Naramore,  Henry  L 493 

National  Academy  of  Medicine. ...  417 
National  Association  of  Inventors..  4 
National  Association  of  Inventors 

and  Manufacturers 3,  5,  37 

National  Bank  of  the  Republic 487 

National  Hall  of  Sciences  at  Wash- 
ington   143 

National  Museum,  formation  of...  235 

loan  exhibition  at 42 

Naval  armor,  improvements  in 435 

Naval     assembly    in     Hampton 

Roads 142 

Navy,  American  patents  in  the..4o,  439 

improved  condition  of. 439 

power  of  European 437 

Navy    Department,  requirements 

of  for  steel 440 

Nedden,  Fur,  duplex  telegraph. ...  192 

Neill,  Dr.  Edward  D.,  quoted 327 

Nevins,  BurnetL.,  Jr 491 

Newcomen,  steam  engine 113,  269 

Newell,  A.  W 496 

Newitt,  Edward 493 

New  Jersey,  early  copyright  laws 

in 154 

New  Jersey,  early  patents  in 46 

Newport,  Captain,  in  Virginia  in 

1608 132 

Newport  News,  Va.,  foreign  trade 

of 142 

Newspaper,  a  century's  progress 

in  the 61 

Newspaper,  definition  of  the 400 

publishing,  labor  saved  in...    86 
relation  of  invention  to  the..  395 

Newton,  Sir  Isaac 295 

gravitation 404 

New  York,  early  copyright  laws  in  154 
early  patents  in 46 


New  York  City  for  Columbian  Ex- 
position   445 

New  York  World,  circulation  of...     62 
Nicholson,  decomposed  water  by 

voltaic  battery 287 

Nicholson,  decomposition  of  water 

by  galvanic  current 179 

Nickel-in-the-slot  machine 48 1 

Nishwity,  F 494 

Nitro-glycerin,  discovery  of. 298 

Nixon,  G.  A  491 

Nixon,  Richard 18 

Noah,  J.  J 18 

Nobel,  nitro-glycerin 298 

Noble,  Hon.  John  W 21,  22,  24,  25, 

35,  41,  449 

on  future  of  American  pat- 
ent system 40,  426 

Noland,  Major 465,  466,  467,  468 

Norman  kings, monopolies  granted 

by 475 

Norris  Peters  Company 487 

North  Carolina,  coal  product  of...  141 

inventor  from 130 

Norton,  W.  T 491 

Novatory,  Jno 492 

Norway,  Hanseatic  League 474 

marine  statistics  of. 163 

Nott,  Wilford  E 491 

Nottingham,  J.  R 19,  491 

Novelty,  Ericsson's  locomotive 165 

Noyes,  Crosby  S 12 

Noyes,    T.    W.,    on   centenary  of 

Washington  City 40 

Nunn,  R.  J 492 


Oberly,  Hon.  John  H 26 

Ocean  cable,  one  of  seven  won- 
ders      71 

Odiorne,  patents  to 459 

Oersted,   deflection    of  magnetic 

needle 288 

Oersted,  electric  current 182 

love  of  science 303 

Official  Gazette  of  Patent  Office...     54 
Ogden,  H.  E 26 


INDEX. 


543 


Ohio  Company,  Washington's  in- 
terest in 338 

Ohio,  military  lands  in 344 

Ohm 303 

Ohm's  formula 289 

Oliver,  Garrett  H 497 

Olney,  Charles  F 495 

Operatives,    factory,    manner    of 

living 232 

Orcutt,  Warren  H 17 

Ordway,  Gen.  Albert 20 

Ordway,  N.  G 491 

Origin,    Nature,    and    Effect    of 

Patents , 473 

Ormsby,  D.  G 491 

Orrick,  W.  W 491 

Orth,  Henry 19,  20,  487,  491 

Otis  elevator 126 

Ovens,  improved  portable 229 

Owens,  Benjamin  B 493 

Page,  Dr.,  discovery  by 197 

Paine,  Hon.  H.  B n,  42,  491 

Paine  &  lyadd 487 

Painting 406 

Paints,  incombustible 220 

Palissy 409,  430 

Palmer,  C.  H 495 

Palmer,  C.  0 495 

Papin's  fire  engine 269 

Park,  copying  telegraph 192 

Parker,  John  H 493 

Parker,  Myron  M 3,  40,  487,  491 

address  of  welcome  by 423 

presides  at  Board  of  Trade 

banquet 423 

Parks,  Gorham  460,  464,  465 

Parmelee,  Dubois  D 495 

Parrett 441 

Parsell,  Henry  V 15,  487,  491 

Parsell,  N.  V 491 

Parsons,  H.  E 41 

Parsons'    machine     for    shearing 

cloth 459 

Parthenon,  model  for  Patent  Office 

Building 456 

Partridge,  John  A 42 


Patent,  difference  between  descrip- 
tion and  claim 51 

Patent,  first  American 134 

first  United  States 49 

Patents  and  the  Law,  relations  of..  433 

classification  of 53 

compared  with  monopolies..  480 
comparison  of  English  and 
American  systems 50 

Patents,  Constitutional  provision 
for 316 

Patents,  definition  of. 473 

early  English 476 

early,  in  Connecticut 45 

early,  in  Massachusetts 45 

early,  issued  by  Secretary  of 
State 453 

Patents,  early  system  of. 48 

extension  of 52,  118 

in  the   army,    Gen.    L.   A. 

Grant  on 434 

limitation  of  term  of. 477 

models  destroyed  by  fire  in 

1836 457,  458 

number  granted 50 

origin,  nature  and  effect  of.  473 
postal  service  protected  by..  442 
property  in,  guarded  by  law  434 

receipts  from 423 

restrictions  in  granting 477 

term  of. 117 

Patent  law,  a  century  of. 24,  HI 

Patent  laws,  Canadian 213 

Patent  medicines 414 

Patent  Office,  clerical  force  of... 52,  454 
collections    transferred     to 

National  Museum 235 

divisions  of. 53 

early  history  of. 49 

finances  of 6,  52,  433 

history  of 429 

importance  of. 25 

Official  Gazette  of 54 

papers  on 453 

reception  at 25 

reorganized  in  1836 134 

the  old  and  the  new 453 


544 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Patent  Office,  under  Department 

of  State 453 

Patent  Office  Building,   architect 

of. 454,  459 

Patent  Office  Building,  architec- 
ture and  construction  of. 456 

Patent  Office  Building,  construc- 
tion of  in  1836  468 

Patent  Office  Building,  destroyed 

by  fire  in  1836 457,  45& 

Patent  Office    Building,    descrip- 
tion of  in  1867 469 

Patent  Office  Building,  dimensions 

of 455 

Patent  Office  Building,  need  of..... 431, 

433 

Patent  rights  in  France 201,  202 

Patent  statutes  of  United  States, 

review  of. 116 

Patent  system,  effect  of  on  devel- 
opment of  United  States 381 

Patent  system,  English 116,  477 

European 207 

inventive    thought    stimu- 
lated by 53 

Jefferson  the  author  of. 133 

origin  of. 43>  3Sl 

Patten,  John 493 

Patten,  Capt.  W.  S 26 

Pattison,  Allen  S 19 

Paul,  Lewis,  spinning  by  rollers..     79 

Pavey,  Dr.,  cited 226 

Peck,  Charles 489 

Peck,  Herbert  E 19 

Peck,  M.  D 491 

Peck,  S.  &  E 491 

Pennie,  J.  C 19 

Pennie  &  Goldsborough 491 

Pennsylvania,  early  patents  in 46 

Pension    office   in    Patent   Office 

Building 470 

Pepper,  John  P 468 

Periodicals  copyrighted 157 

Perkin,  discovered  aniline  dyes....  306 

Perkins,  patents  to 459 

Perrin,  N.  G.  M 492 

Perry,  W.  G 26 


Peters,  Eugene 16,  487,  914 

Peterson,  August 17 

Petroleum,  products  of 74 

results  from  discovery  of.....     74 

Pettigrew,  E 460,  465 

Pettit,  Horace 496 

Peyton's  reminiscences  of  Brad- 
dock  327 

Phelps,  George  M 495 

Phelps  electro-motor  telegraph 191 

Philadelphia,  seat  of  national  gov- 
ernment     453 

Philadelphia  Spelling  Book,  first 

book  copyrighted 154 

Philadelphia  Typewriter  Company  488 

Phillipp,  M.  B 488 

Phillips,  C.  C 496 

Phillips,  Wendell 53 

Philosopher's    stone,    patent    for 

making in 

Phlogistic  theory 239 

Phonograph,  importance  of.  ...424,  481 
Photographers'  art  used  in  warfare  439 

Photolithography 482 

Physics,  discoveries  in 419 

Pierce,  P.  B 491 

Pike,  Major  Benjamin  F 26 

Pilling,  J.  W 491 

Pinckney,  Charles,  copyright  and 

patent  right 47,  134,  145 

Pine,  Leighton 492 

Piscatoway,  Indian  towne 320 

Planing  machine 479 

Planten,  H.  &  Son 495 

Platt,  Senator  O.  H n,  21,  24,  489 

on  invention  and  advance- 
ment      57 

Playfair,  Sir  Lyon 226 

Plimpton,  Henry  R 493 

Plimpton,  James  L 493 

Plow,   barrel,    Washington's    ex- 
periments with 359 

iron,  first  in  America 135 

steam 407 

sulky,  Avery's 130 

two-eyed  and  duck-bill 331 

Pneumatic  dynamite  torpedo  gun..  437 


INDEX. 


545 


Pole,  B.  C 491 

Pollock,  Anthony 20 

Poole,  Benjamin 15 

Poor,  John  C 15,  491 

Pope,  F.  L.,  cited 189 

Pope,  Hon.  John  H 21 

Pope,  Hon.  Richard 41 

address  by 450 

Porter,  F.  E 493 

Porter,  Hon.  Robert  P 20,  26,  141 

Postal  service,  American  patents 

in  the 40,  441 

Postoffice  building,  extension  of. ..  454 

Post  routes,  extension  of. 51 

Post  system,  growth  of 61 

Potomac  Terra-cotta  Company 487 

Potomac  River,  early  name  for 320 

Potter,  Henry  G 26 

Pottery,  discovery  of  enamel  for...  430 
Powder,  improvements  in..296,  429,  436 

Powell,  Major  J.  W n,  26,  42 

Power-loom 482 

Power-loom,  Cartwright's 137 

invented  in  1785 81 

labor  saved  by 86 

Prall,  W.  E 487 

Pratt,  F.  A 489 

Pratt,  F.  W 17,  20 

Preece,  Nystorin, duplex  telegraph  192 

Prentiss,  F.  H 495 

Prescott,  quadruplex  telegraph....  192 
President  of  the  United  States,  ac- 
cepts invitation  to  preside 7 

President  of  the  United  States,  ad- 
dress by 23 

President  of  the  United  States,  re- 
ception by 31 

President  of  the  United  States, 

thanks  to 35 

Price,  Benjamin 493 

Price,  Colonel,  utilization  of  coal 

dust 22 

Price,  J.  A 41,  496 

Price,  James  M 496 

Prices,  comparative 389 

Prices,  reduction  in,  on  result  of 
*  protection 432 


Priestly,  chemical  discoveries  by..  240 

Prindle,  George  S 17 

Prindle  &  Russell 487,  491 

Printing  press 384 

Printing  press,  Hoe's 126 

improved,  labor  saved  by...     86 

one  of  seven  wonders 71 

Proceedings  of   meetings  of  the 

Congress 21 

Property  in  patents  guarded  by 

law 434 

Protection   of  mechanical  inven- 
tions   200 

Protective  principle  and  reduction 

in  prices 432 

Pruden,  Mr.  O.  Iy 26 

Publications    copyrighted     1870- 

1890 156 

Pullman,  sleeping  cars 136 

Pullman,  thanks  due  to 124 

Quadruplex  telegraph 192 

Queen  Elizabeth  and  monopolies..  476 
Quimby,  Edward  E 495 

Rafter,  G.  S 491 

Railroad,  first  in  America 132 

freight,  cost  of  transporta- 
tion    170 

locomotive,     early    experi- 
ments with 132 

mileage  of  the  world  in  1891  168 

water-borne  system  of. 172 

Railroads,  as  an  expansion  of  labor    91 

civilizing  influence  of. 99 

earnings  in  1889 171 

effect  of  invention  upon. ..27,  73, 

161 

extension  of  Southern 140 

growth  of. 61 

number  of  employes  on 91 

statistics  of. 73,  168 

street,  development  of. 167 

Rails,  early  patterns  of. 165,  166 

Railway,  effect  of  invention  on 164 

Railways,  improvements  in  rolling 
stock...  .  166 


546 


INDEX. 


Rake,  harvest  horse 374 

Randolph,  Colonel,  hill-side  plow  135 
Randolph,  Edmund,  signed   first 

American  patent 134 

Range-finder,  for  long-range  guns.  436 

Rankin,  Rev.  J.  B n,  42 

Ransdell,  Marshal  D.  M 41 

Rapley,  W.  H 17 

Ray,  Mr.,  on  inventions 479 

Raymond,  Henry  W 16 

Raymond,  William  C 495 

Reaper,  McCormick 126 

Reception  at  the  Executive  Man- 
sion      31 

Reception  at  the  Patent  Office 25 

Reception  Committee 16 

Recording  telegraph,  systems  of...   191 

Reed,  patents  to 459 

Reeves,  E.  H 491 

Registry  locks,  rotary 442 

Regnault,  researches  on  gases  and 

vapors 311 

Reis,  Philip,  telephone 197 

Reizen,    system   of   telegraph    in 

1794 178 

Relation  of  invention  to  labor 77 

Relation  of  patents  to  the  law..4o,  433 
Remberts,  roller  cotton  compress..  130 

Resolution  of  thanks 35 

Revolving  cannon,  Hotchkiss 436 

Reynolds,  Edwin 496 

Reynolds,  Lucius  E 491 

Rice,  James  Q 491 

Rice,  John  V 494 

Richard  II   of  England,  statutes 

against  monopolies 476 

Richards,  Mrs.  Ellen  H 226 

Richards,  F.  H 489 

Richards,  Rev.  J.  Havens n 

Richards  &  Company 491 

Richardson,  Charles  H 491 

Richardson,  F.  A 18 

Richter,  Miss  C.  M 26 

Ridpath,  John  Clark 492 

Ries,  Elias  E 493 

Rifle,  breech-loading 295 

Springfield  breech-loader...  438 


Riggs  &  Co 487 

Riley,  Samuel 491 

Ripple,  Ezra  H 496 

Ritchie,  needle  telegraph 180 

Ritter,    decomposed    water    with 

copper  sulphate 287 

Ritter,  Dr.  F.  W 18 

Ritter,  F.  W.,  Jr 491 

Rivers,  Jose  R.  de  Rivas  Y 491 

Roane,  L.  B 491 

Roanoke,  growth  of 140 

Robert,  Henry  M 491 

Robbins,  Benjamin 295 

Robert,  Col.  H.  M 12 

Robert,  District  Commissioner 41 

Roberts,  Edward  P 495 

Roberts,  Milton  Josiah 495 

Robertson,  T.  J.  W 17 

Robinson,  Prof.  W.  C.,  quoted 63 

Rocket,  locomotive 165 

Rodman,  General,  improved  guns  435 

improved  powder 296,  436 

Rodriguez,  Jose"  J 20 

Roemer,  William 494 

Roessle,  T.  E 487 

Rogers,  Archibald 495 

Romagne"si,    deflection    of  mag- 
netic needle  by  electricity 179 

Ronalds,  system  of  telegraph  in 

1816 178 

Rooting  engine 334 

Rose,  Manning  M 26 

Rosecrans,  General  W.  S 12,  42 

Roselle,  Capt.  W.  T 17 

Rosewater,  Andrew 42,  494 

Ross,  Hon.  J.  W 12,  44 

Rotch,  A.  Lawrence 493 

Rowland,  George 495 

Royce  &  Marean 487 

Ruebsam,  John  E 491 

Ruggles,    Hon.    John,    improve- 
ments in  patent  system 52 

Ruggles,  Hon.  John,  letter  from 

Ellsworth  to 463 

Ruggles,  Hon.  John,  on  architect 

of  Patent  Office 462 

Ruggles,  Hon.  John,  on  needs  of 
Patent  Office 458' 


INDEX. 


547 


Rumford,  inventions  of. 404 

Rmnney,  William,  letter  from 

Washington  to 364 

Rumsey,  James,  new  in  vented  boat 

in  1785 46 

Rumsey,  James,  steamboat 130,  131 

Rumsey  Society  of  Philadelphia..  131 

Runkle,  Prof.  John  D 224 

Russell,  P.  G 18 

Russia,  Hauseatic  League  in 474 

marine  statistics  of 163 

railway  incident  in 427 

Rutherford,  James  A 16 

Ryan,  Matthew 491 

Ryan,  William  R 26 

Ryneal,  George,  Jr 487 


Saavedra,  Roderigo 491 

Sabine's    "Electric    Telegraph," 

quoted 180 

St.  Clair,  Dr.  F.  0 14,  491 

St.  Clair,  Dr.  F.  O.,  on  American 
patents  from  an   international 

standpoint 40 

St.  Hilaire,  Geoffrey 404 

Safety  lamp,  Davy's 136 

Salt,  early  patent  for  making 45 

Salt  monopolies  in  England 476 

Sanders,  H.  P 487,  491 

Sanger,  Major  J.  P  26 

Sanitation,   American  inventions 

in 413 

Sanitation,  improved  methods  of.  421 

Savannah,  steamboat,  named 163 

Savery's  engine 269 

Saxon  and  Norman  kings,  grants 

by 474 

Schilling,  five-needle  telegraph  ...  180 

telegraph 182,  187 

Schoen,  Charles  T 496 

Schools,  medical 420 

Schools,  manual  training...  70 
Scholtus,  "Technica  Curiosa," 

cited 175 

Schreder,  quadruplex  telegraph...  192 

Schweigger,  magnetic  helix 288 


Schweigger,  magnet  wound  with 

wire 179 

Science,  applied,  utility  of 307 

Scientific  societies,  work  of 307 

Scott,  Alexander 491 

Scott,    General,    and   the    Yazoo 

Company 319 

Screw  breech  mechanisms  for  guns  436 

Scull,  C.  C 17 

Sculpture 406 

Scythe,    improved,    patented     in 

1646 45 

Searles,  Anson 494 

Sears,  W.  G 497 

Seaton,  Malcolm 491 

Seckendorf,  M.  G 18 

Secretary  of  State,  issued  patents 

in  1801 453 

See,J.  W 495 

Seely,  Col.  F.  A....II,  28,  41,  481,  487, 

491 

Seely,  F.  A.,  on  international  pro- 
tection of  industrial  property....  199 

Seely,  G.  D 487,  491 

Selden,  George  B 495 

Selden,  W.  H 487 

Sellers,  Coleman 496 

Sellers,  William 496 

Semaphore  telegraph 184 

Semken,  H 16 

Serrell,  L.  W 488,  495 

Seven  wonders  of  American  inven- 
tion      71 

Sewage,  improved  methods  of 222 

Seward,  Hon.  W.  H.,  on  the  in- 
ventive faculty 479 

Sewing  machine 480 

benefits  by 136 

invention  of. 122 

labor  expanded  by 91 

one  of  seven  wonders 71 

the  original 408 

Seymour,  H.  A 16,  491 

Sharpe,  J.  R.,  voltaic  telegraph...  179 

Shaw,  Thomas 38,  496 

ventilation  of  coal  mines 22 

Shaw,  William 367 


548 


INDEX. 


Shaw,  William  B 27 

Shearing  cloth,  machine  for 459 

Sheehy,  R.  J 495 

Shellabarger,  Samuel 491 

Shepard,  James 489 

Sherman,  George  W 495 

Sherwood,  Henry 16,  491 

Shipman,  M.  D 492 

Shirley,  General 326 

Shoemaker  Company 497 

Sibley,  conical  tent 130 

Sicily  at  World's  Exposition 449 

Sickels,  F.  E 38,  493 

Sickels,  Frederick  E.,  expansion 

gear 280 

Sickels,  Frederick  E.,  steam-steer- 
ing apparatus 21 

Siemens,  telegraphic  apparatus  ...  192 

Siggers,  E.  G 491 

Signalling,  early  methods  of. 175 

Signals,  army,  improved 438 

Silk  industry  in  Virginia  in  1623  ..  133 

Silver,  William  J 497 

Simens,  telegraphic  apparatus 188 

Simonds,  George  F 41,  493 

Simons,  H.  0 19 

Simons,  Howard  T 495 

Simpson,  G.  R 491 

Singer  sewing  machine 136 

Singleton,  W.  H 17,  487 

Singleton,  W.  R 20,  487 

Sinsabaugh,  Iy.  W 15 

Skidmore,  James  L 19,  491 

Skilton,  James  A 495 

Skinner,  F.  C 491 

Slave  system 78 

Slocum,  Harry  F 19,  491 

Small  arms,  improvement  in.. .299,  438 
Small  arms,  labor  saved  in  mak- 
ing      83 

Small,  James,  iron  plow 135 

Smelting  works,  first  in  America..  133 

Smillie,  Thos.  W 491 

Smith,  Adam,  quoted 98 

Smith,  A.  M 15,  487 

Smith,  Arthur  St.  A 491 

Smith,  Charles  F 495 


Smith,  Charles  R 496 

Smith,  E.  D 496 

Smith,  Frederick  H 42 

Smith,  F.  W 26 

Smith,    Gerrit,    quadruplex    tele- 
graph   192 

Smith,  Harold  B 495 

Smith,  Henry  W 41 

Smith,  Jesse  M , 493 

Smith,  John  Y 38,  496 

Smith,  John  Y.,  air  brakes 22 

Smith,  Lyman 492 

Smith,  Oberlin...22,  27,  38,  41,  42,  494 

Smith,  R.  D.  0 492 

Smokeless  powder 436 

Smithsonian  Institution...  ,  406 

Patent      Office      collection 

transferred  to 235 

Smyth,  D.  M 38,  41,  494 

Snow,  C.  A 16 

Snow,  C.  A.  &  Co 487 

Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers..     22 

Soley,  Hon.  J.  R 40,  41 

on  American  patents  in  the 

Navy 40,  439 

Solomons,  A.  S 20 

Somes,  F.  C 17,  487,  491 

Sommering,  electrolysis  telegraph  179 

Soteldo,  Hon.  A.  M 41 

Soule*,  J.  H 18 

South,  Carolina,  early  patent  laws 

in 132 

South     Carolina    Railroad,     first 

steam  road  in  America 132 

South,  the  New,  Senator  Daniel  on  129 

Spain,  Hanseatic  League  in 474 

marine  statistics  of 163 

Sparks,  quoted 314 

Spear,  Hon.  Ellis n,  42,  487,  491 

Specification    of  patent,  English 

form 115 

Specifications,  amendments  to 116 

Spencer 404 

Spencer,  Col.  Nicholas 320 

Spencer,  Herbert,  on  ethics 92 

Spiers,  James 488 

Spinning,  improvements  in 79 


INDEX. 


549 


Spinning  industry,  labor  saved  in..  86 

Spinning  jenney,  Hargreave's 137 

patented  in  1770 81 

Spinning  mule,  Crompton's 137 

Spofford,  Hon.  A.  R..II,  14,  27,  487,  491 

on  copyright  system 145 

Spofford,  H.  W 18 

Spotswood,  General 319 

Springer,  Ruter  W 491 

Springfield  breech-loader  rifle..3Oi,  438 

Stallings,  W.  H..  A 492 

Stamping-machines,  mail 443 

Stanley,  Kdward 496 

Stanley,  Lord,  opposes  patent  laws    54 

Staples,  O.  G.... 487 

Stark,  J.  B.,  quadruplex  telegraph  192 

Statutes  of  monopolies 476 

Stealey,  O.  0 18 

Steamboat,  invention  of 123 

Steamboat,  patent  for,  in  1787 46 

Steamboat  Savannah,  1819 163 

Steamboats,  growth  of. 61 

Steam  engine 480 

ancient  knowledge  of. 251 

construction  of  Watt's 275 

early  types  of. 113 

invention  of. 251 

Watt  studies  principle  of....  114 
Steam  engines,  speed  fluctuation 

of 281 

Steam  engines,  work  accomplished 

by 281 

Steamships,  speed  of  ocean 280 

statistics  of. 163 

vSteam  transportation,  cost  of. 163 

one  of  seven  wonders 71 

Stearns,  J.  B.,  multiple  telegraph..  192 

Stearns,  James  S 495 

Steel,  age  of.    139 

gun 297 

high  quality  of,  for  Navy...  440 

increased  consumption  of...  90 

structural 220 

uses  of 139 

Steel  industry,  statistics  of 139 

making,    Bessemer  process 

of. 136 


Steel  industry,  monopolies  in  Eng- 
land   476 

wire  wound  gun.  436 

rails,  first  manufacture  of...  136 

Steering  apparatus 440 

Steinheil,  discovery  of  earth  cir- 
cuit    181 

Steinheil,  electric  telegraph 183 

Stellwagen,  B.  J 487 

Stephenson,  George,  locomotive...  136 

Stephenson,  William  J 20 

Stephenson's  locomotive 164 

Sterrett,  W.  G ig 

Stetson,  Thomas  D 495 

Steuart,  Arthur 493 

Stevens,  fruit  wrapper 130 

Stevens,  Francis  P 493 

Stevens,  W 487 

Stevens,  W.  B 18 

Stevens,  W.  X 17,  491 

Steward,  Thos.  G 491 

Stewart,  Alex.  S 18 

Stewart,  W.  G 496 

Stiles,  N.  C 489 

Stockbridge,  V.  D 18,  487,  491 

Stockley,  George  W 494 

Stockman,  Charles  J 19 

Stockton  and  Darlington  Railroad  165 

Stoddart  &  Co 487,  491 

Stokes,  George  W 19 

Stone  age 78,  139,  406 

Stone,  grain-roller  mill 130 

Stone,  Marvin  C 3,  5,  13,  25,  27,  38 

41,  487,  491 
Stonebridge      Lion,     locomotive, 

trial  trip  of. 132 

Street  railroads,  development  of...  167 

Sturgeon,  electro-magnet 288 

Sturgeon's   "Annals  of  Electric- 
ity," quoted 182 

Sturtevant,  C.  I/ 18,491 

Submarine  explosives 437 

Submarine  telegraphy,  difficulties 

of 195 

Sulzberger,  D 496 

Sunderland,  Rev.  Byron n,  23,  491 

Supreme  Court,  thanks  to  judges 
of. 35 


550 


INDEX 


Supreme  Court  of  United  States 
as  related  to  American  Patent 

System 425 

Surgery,  American  inventions  in..  413 
Surgical  instruments,  patents  for..  417 

Swan,  W.  D 26 

Sweden,  letter  of  congratulation 

from 35 

Sweden,  marine  statistics  of. 163 

Sweet,  Henry  N 493 

Swift's  definition  of  invention 441 

Swift's  machine  for  shearing  and 

napping  cloth 459 

Switzerland,  letter  of  congratula- 
tion from 34 


Tabor,  Alva  S 20 

Tainter,  Charles  S 491 

Tainter,  Sumner,  speech  transmit- 
ted by  beams  of  light 198 

Taliaferro,  Colonel 318 

Talleyrand's  opinion  of  Washing- 
ton   379 

Taney,  Chief  Justice,  Morse  tele- 
graph patent 119 

Tapley  Machine  Company 493 

Tasker,  F.  E 15,  487,  491 

Tasker,  J.  C.  &  F.  B 487 

Taylor,  Dr.  Thomas 16,  491 

Taylor,  Hon.  Roberts 24,  41 

on      epoch-making    inven- 
tions of  America 121 

Taylor,  James  I, 17 

Technological    schools,  effect    of, 

upon  progress  of  invention 239 

Telautograph 193 

Telegraph 4 410 

Telegraph  and  telephone 486 

inventors  of. 27,  175 

Telegraph,  army  use  of. 438 

autographic 193 

between    Washington    and 

Baltimore  in  1843 119 

Bozolus  system  in  1767 178 

day  and  night 175 

discovery  of  earth  circuit ...  181 


Telegraph,  early  discoveries  per- 
taining to 177 

early  systems  of. 176 

first  use  of  the  word 175 

flag 176 

galvanic,  origin  of. 179 

galvanoscopic 180 

Gaynor's  fire 130 

growth  of. 61 

harmonic 193 

Le  Sage  system  in  1774 178 

Lomond  system  in  1787 178 

Morrison  system  of,  in  1753..  T78 

Morse,  history  of. 119 

multiple  transmission... 1 92,  193 

patent  for 119 

quadruples 192 

recording,  chemical  method  191 

Ronalds'  system 178 

semaphore 176 

type-printing 190 

Telegraphy,  employes  in 90 

Telephone 167 

a  new  occupation 90 

army  use  of.... 438 

electric 196 

invention  of. 196 

inventors  of  the 175 

mechanical 196 

wonders  accomplished  by...  424 
Telescope,  Chinese  ignorance  of...  429 

early  uses  of 293 

use  of,  for  signaling 175 

Teller,  Hon.  H.  M n 

Temple,  A.  F 493 

Tennessee,  coal  product  of. 141 

Term  of  patents 52,  117 

Terra-cotta  lumber 220 

Texas,  inventors  from 130 

Textile  art,  women  first  inventors 

in 409 

Textile  industry,  labor-saving  ma- 

chinerv  in 85 

Textile  industry,  statistics  of. 388 

Textile  machinery,  improvements 

in 482 

Thane,  early  English  title 474 


INDEX. 


551 


Thatcher,  Dr.  James 346 

Thomas,  Capt.  A.  A 17,  487 

Thompsonianism 413 

Thompson,  Edward  P 495 

Thompson,  Sir  Henry 226 

Thompson,  John  W 487 

Thompson,  Magnus  S 16 

Thompson,  Sir  William 54 

Thompson,  W.  B 17,  42,  491 

Thomson,  Charles 353 

Thomson,  copying  telegraph 192 

Thomson,  Elihu 22,  493 

Thomson,  Frank 22 

Thomson,  submarine  telegraphy..  195 
Thornton,  William 454,  459 

in  charge  of  issue  of  patents  453 

Thorpe,  inventions  of. 459 

Thresher,  steam 407 

Threshing  machine... 372 

Winslow's 377 

in  Washington's  day 318 

Thurston,  Prof.  R.  H 29,  38,  41,  42 

on  invention  of  the  steam 

engine 251 

Tiles,  cohesive 220 

Tillman,  Hon.  George  D n 

Tinware,  cost  of  production 389 

Toasts  at  Board  of  Trade  banquet..  424 

Tobacco  stemmer,  Coffee's 130 

Todd,  A.  J 495 

Toner,  Dr.  J.  M 12,  30,  41,  491 

on  General  Washington  as 
an  inventor  and  promoter 

of  useful  arts 313 

Toof,  Edwin  J 489 

Torpedo  gun,  dynamite 437 

Torpedoes,  use  of,  in  warfare 298 

Toulmin,  H.  A 495 

Towle,  H.  S 492 

Towles,  H.  0 16 

Town,  Ithiel 461 

Towner,  A.  C 26 

Townsend,  Henry  P 495 

Townsend,  W.  W 487,  491 

Tramways,  early  use  of 164 

Transportation,    army,     improve- 
ments in 438 


Transportation,  steam,  beginning 

of 123 

Transportation,    condition    of  in 

1790 161 

Transportation,   improvements  in 

methods  of. 73 

Transportation,  of  freight,  cost  of..  163 

of  mails,  improvements  in...  443 

rapid , 449 

Trant,  Justus  A 489 

Trask,  Charles  H 493 

Travis,  W.  H '. 496 

Treasury  Building,  architect  of.....  461 
Tredwell,      Professor,     improved 

guns 435 

Trego,  John  T 487 

Trevithic's  locomotive,  1804 164 

Tribaoillet,single  circuit  telegraph  180 

Trip-slips  and  bell-punch 481 

Trowbridge,  Prof.  William  P 28,  41 

on  the  effect  of  technolog- 
ical schools  upon  the  pro- 
gress of  invention 239 

Truesdale,  John 497 

Trumbull,  Governor,  letter  from 

Washington  to 348 

Trusts,  no  claim  on  the  law 434 

Tryon,  F.  M 491 

Turberville,  George 336 

Turbine  wheel,  changes  caused  by.  231 

Turpin,  P.  B 491 

Tweedale,  John 16,  491 

Tyler,  Amelia 491 

Tyler,  Edward  R 27,  487,  491 

Tyler,  R.  D.  S 16,  491 

Type-printing  telegraph 190 

Typewriter 480 

an  epoch-making  invention.   126 

Typhoid  fever,  nature  of. 420 

Typhus  fever,  nature  of 420 


Upson,  L.  A. 


489 


Vail,  Alfred,  magneto-electric  tele- 
graph      21 

Vail,  Alfred,  recording  telegraph.. 184, 

189 


552 


INDEX. 


Vail,  Alfred,  telegraph 167 

type-printing  telegraph 190 

Vail,  Mrs.  Alfred 21,  28 

Vander  Weyde,  P.  H 495 

Van  Dorsten,  A.  W 49* 

Van  Hovenberg,  Alfred  A 494 

Venezuela,  patent  laws  of. 213 

Ventilation  of  naval  vessels 440 

Vintou,  Samuel  F 460,  464,  465 

Virginia,  coal  product  of. I41 

early  copyright  laws  in 154 

inventors  from 13° 

Vitrified  brick 220 

Vodka,  Russian  drink 427 

Vogt,  A.  S 496 

Voit,  Professor 226 

Volta,  discoveries  of. 179 

medal  of  Royal  Society  to...  303 
Voltaic  battery,  invention  of...  179,  287 

Voorhees,  John  H 492 

Voorhees,  R.  H 16 

Vulcanized  rubber  discovered  by 

Goodyear 43° 

Vulcanized  timber 220 

Wadsworth,  Col.  Jeremiah 48 

Wages,  increase  of. 100 

Wages  and  prices,  Weeks  on 223 

Wage  system , 78 

Waggaman,  John  F 16 

Waggaman,  T.  E n 

Wagon,  army 438 

Wagon-making,  labor  saved  in 85 

Wait,  Wesley 495 

Walcott,  Charles  D 492 

Walker,  Philip... 16 

Wanamaker,      Postmaster      Gen- 
eral  21,  26 

Ward,  Gen.  A 460,  464,  465 

Warder,  B.  H 487 

Warfare,  modern,  influenced  by 

invention 293 

Warfare,  patents  for  implements 

of 435 

Warner,  Brainard  H 3,  41,  487,  492 

Warner,  B.  H.,  &  Co 487 

Wartman,  quadruples  telegraph.  192 


Washington,  Augustine 328,  338 

Washington      Board    of     Trade, 

banquet  of. 39 

Washington  City,  centenary  of. .40,  424 
for  Columbian  Exposition...  445 
seat  of  Government  moved 

to 453 

Washington,  Judge  Bushrod 330 

Washington,  G.  A 359 

Washington,    General,    as    Presi- 
dent, advocates  encouragement 

to  invention 48 

Washington,  General,  boyhood  of.  320 

diary  of. 318 

interested     in    agricultural 

improvements 318 

invented  wine  coaster 375 

inventor  and    promoter  of 

useful  arts 313 

personal  appearance  of..33o,  347, 

349 
proposed     first     Amencan 

canal 131 

rules  of  civility,  etc.,  by 322 

signed  first  American  pat- 
ent   134 

Washington,  Lieut.  Col.  John 320 

Washington,  John  Augustine..33O,  341 
Washington,  Major  Lawrence..322,  338 

Washington,  Col.  Lewis  W 330 

Washington,     Mary,    mother    of 

George 34i 

Washington,  Warner 343 

Washington  &  Georgetown  Rail- 
road Co 487 

Watches  and  clocks,  improved 482 

Water  frame,  Arkwright's 137 

Waterman,  L.  E 495 

Water  supply,  improvements  in...  221 
Watkins,  J.  Elfreth..3,  5,  13,  25,  27,  30, 
32,  35,  37,  38,  41,  42,  487,  492 
Watkins,  J.  Elfreth,  announces  for- 
mation of  American  Association 
of  Inventors  and  Manufacturers.  452 

Watt,  James 410 

biography  of. 113 

leader     in     the     inventive 
world 64 


INDEX. 


553 


Watt,  James,  patent  for  steam  en- 
gine in  1769 113 

patent  to,  in  1769 44 

steam  engine...  136,  254,  285,  271 

Watt  &  Starke,  plows 130 

Wealth,  power  of. 394 

Weavers'  reeds,  machine  for  mak- 
ing     459 

Weaving,  improvements  in 79 

Weaving    industry,    labor-saving 

machinery  in 86 

Weaving,  introduced  into  England 

in  1620 133 

Weber,  needle  telegraph 180 

Webster,  Sir  Richard,  decision  as 

to  Main  patent 210 

Webster's    spelling    book    intro- 
duced  ,     60 

Weed,  sewing  machine 136 

Weeks,  Joseph  D.,  on  wages  and 

prices 223 

Weems,  David  G 38,  493 

electrical  locomotive 21 

Weems,  D.  J 41 

Weems    electric   system  of  rail- 
ways   172 

Weighing  scales 482 

Weightman,  Richard 18 

Weightman,  Roger  C 460 

Welcker's  Hotel 487 

Weller,  M.  1 15,  487 

Welles,  Roger 26,  487,  492 

Welling,  Dr.  J.  C 11,42 

Welling,  Wm.  M 495 

Wells,  Hon.  David  A.,  cited 387 

Westinghouse,  George 41,  496 

air-brakes 136 

Westinghouse,  thanks  due  to 124 

West  Virginia,  coal  product  of.....  141 
Wheatstone,  copying  telegraph  ...  192 
electro  -  magnetic     escape- 
ment   191 

telegraph 167,  183,  187,  188 

transmission  of  sound 1 96 

Wheeler,  Frederick  Merian 495 

Wheelock,  Jerome 493 

Whelpley,  Hon.  J.  W 15 


PAGE 

Whitaker,  J.  H 15 

Whitaker,  W.  W 495 

Whitaker  &  Prevost 487,  492 

Whitcomb,  G.  Henry 493 

White,  H.  K 492 

White,  James  W 16 

White,  John  H 492 

White,  M.  A  497 

White,  William  A 495 

White,  W.  J 495 

White,  William  K 492 

White  Dental  Manufacturing  Co. ..  496 

Whitely,  W.  N 495 

Whitfield,  Hon.  S.  A 40 

on  American  patents  in  the 

Postal  Service 40,  441 

Whitman,  Charles  E 492 

Whitman,  C.  S 20 

Whitman  &  Wilkinson 487 

Whitney,  Eli 41 

cotton  gin 122,  136,  137,  459 

Whittemore's  machine  for  making 

wool  cards 459 

Whittlesey,  George  P 18,  492 

Wiedersheim,  John  A 496 

Wight,  B.  B 18 

Wight,  John  B 487 

Wight,  lyloyd  B 16,  18,  492 

Wilber,  Jerome  J 18 

Wiley,  William  H 489 

Wilhelm,  Edward 495 

Wilkins,  Hon.  Beriah 12 

Wilkinson,  A.  G 492 

Wilkinson,  Ernest 492 

Wilkinson's  machine  for  weavers' 

reeds 459 

William  Rufus 474 

Willcox  sewing  machines 136 

Willett,  James  P 16 

Willetts,  H.  J 492 

Williams,  Frank  R 16,  27 

Williams,  George  B 16 

Williams,  JohnT 495 

Williams,  N.  G 497 

Williams,  Porte,  electric  railway  .  172 
Williamson,  Mr.,  advocates  new 

patent  law  in  1793 49 


554 


INDEX. 


Willits,  Hon.  Edwin n,  21,  25,  492 

on  American  patents  in  ag- 
riculture     41 

Wilson,  A.  A 16,  492 

Wilson,  Davies 492 

Wilson,  Herbert  M 42 

Wilson,  Judge  James 316 

Wilson,  Joseph  M 23 

Wilson,  Thomas n,  16,  20,  42,  487, 

492 

Wilson,  William 495 

Wine  coaster,  dinner,  invention  of  374 
Winslow,  Samuel,  method  of  mak- 
ing salt 45 

Winslow's  thrashing  machine 377 

Winter,  duplex  telegraph 192 

Wires,  M.  D 492 

Wirth,  Joseph 492 

Witter,  E.  E 495 

Wolf,  Paul 18 

Wolf,  Hon.  Simon 12 

Wolf,  S.  &Co 492 

Wollaston 404 

Women,  first  inventors  in  ceramic 

art 409 

Women,  patents  granted  to 130 

Wood,  W.  D 496 

Woodbridge,  Dr.  W.  E.,  steel 

wire  wound  gun 436 

Woodbury,  E.  F 487 

Wood  pulp  mouldings 220 

Woodruff,  E.  W 487 

Woodruff,  Mrs 26 

Woods,  George,  quoted 105 

Woodward,  Oscar 487,  492 

Woodward,  Prof.  R.  S 26,  492 


Woodward  &  Lothrop 487 

Wool  cards,  machine  for  making..  459 

Worcester's  fire  engine 269 

Workingmen,  improved  condition 

of 108 

World's  Columbian  Exposition  ...  142 
World's     Exposition,     American 

patents  at 444 

World's  Exposition,  buildings  for  446 

countries  represented  at 448 

finances  of. 445 

Wormley's  Hotel ,  487 

Worthen,  W.  E t 495 

Wright,  Carroll  D.  ...12,  21,  24,  26,  41, 

140,  492 

Wright,  Hon.  Carroll  D.,  on  the 
relation  of  invention  to  labor. ...     77 

Wright,  Horatio  G 42 

Wright,  Iy.  P 16 

Wright,  William 280 

Wyatt,  John,  spinning  by  rollers... 79, 

80 
Wyckoff,  Seamans  &  Benedict ....  488 

Wynne,  Lewis  B 487,  492 

Yazoo  Company,  Patrick  Henry's 

interest  in 319 

Youmans,  Professor,  quoted 267 

Young,  Arthur,  letter  from  Wash- 
ington to 344 

Young,  E.  0 497 

Yznaga,  Jose  M 20 

Zalinski,  Captain,  dynamite  gun..  299, 

437 

Zeigler,  W.  R 492 

Zimmerman,  William 492 


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